Police in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, detained and physically mistreated Mr. Olatunbosun Awoniyi, a journalist with Xinhua News Agency, in an attempt to compel him to reveal his source.
It was gathered that the senior news editor was released after approximately three hours in detention at Area A Command, Lion Building, Lagos. He was required to write a statement in the presence of his lawyer, Barrister Deji Roland Omokhaiye of Deji Rowland Chambers, Ikeja.
During interrogation by plain-cloth police operatives, Mr Awoniyi said he was repeatedly asked to disclose his source for a story published by the agency on bandits’ activities and the security source.
“I was threatened with all kinds of words, including telling me that they would come after my family,” Awoniyi said in a press statement released through his lawyer.
“I told the officers that I wouldn’t say a word until my lawyer came in; unfortunately, I was kept in a dirty room, where I stayed for three hours before my lawyer came and got my bail,” he said.
Barrister Omokhaiye wondered why a journalist who was doing his lawful duties could face the trauma Awoniyi faced at the hands of Lagos police when the Nigerian constitution is clear on the fundamental human rights enjoyed by all citizens in the country.
He called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, CFR, to call his men to order, adding that his chamber would not hesitate to approach the court of law if his client were to face a similar ordeal in the future.