NUJ Condemns Arrest Of Newspaper Publisher In A’Ibom

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State Council, has condemned the recent arrest of a newspaper publisher, Emmanuel Sam by the police in the state.
Mr Sam, publisher of the Guide, a local newspaper in the state, was invited to the police headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia, last Thursday, where he was reportedly detained for several hours.
He was later released on bail in the evening of that day.
Mr Sam told newsmen that the police said they arrested him based on a petition that his paper published a story dismissing as false, an alleged attempt on the life of , the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Nsima Ekere.
“They said I should have waited for the police to conclude their investigation before we published our story,” Mr Sam said.
“Nsima Ekere said the governor and the state government sent assassins after him. I asked the government if that was true, and they said it wasn’t true, and from there, we did a report to say that Nsima Ekere was lying. NsimaEkere said the governor and the state government sentassassins after him.
which was signed by the Chairman and the Secretary of the NUJ, Patrick Albert and Amos Etuk, respectively. That journalists and newspaper publishers are today hounded by security agencies, at the least promptings in Akwa Ibom State,is a very unhealthy development which is completely antithetical to democratic tenets, said the statement which was signed by the chairman and the secretary of the NUJ, Patrick Albert and Amos Etuk, respectively.
The NUJ said Mr Sam was arrested “by the anti-kidnapping squad of the police over a petition by a certain politician”.