Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force on Friday raided the head office of Peoples Gazette newspaper in Abuja, arresting one of its editors.
Peoples Gazette in a publication claimed that John Adenekan, an assistant managing editor, was taken away at about 12:35 p.m. by five armed police officers who broke into the paper’s office opposite NNPC Quarters in Utako.
The officers who declined to state the reason for their alleged assault, demanded to see Managing Editor Samuel Ogundipe and reporter Adefemola Akintade.
Both journalists were not available during the operation, prompting the officers to arrest Adenekan in their stead, perpetuating an unconstitutional tradition of arresting associates in the event that people of interest are unavailable.
Adenekan said he was being taken to the Utako police division following the raid.
In an update on its Twitter page, Peoples Gazette wrote: “The police have just returned to our offices to arrest four more colleagues, including two reporters and two admin personnel.
“Five staff members of Peoples Gazette are now in police custody for undisclosed reasons.”
Naija News recalls that Peoples Gazette had its website restricted in January 2021 and had its head office invaded in January 2022 by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
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