Madu Onuorah, veteran defence correspondent and publisher of the Globalupfront Newspaper (Online) has been abducted by the police for yet to be explained reason from his home in Abuja.
A statement by the management of the newspaper indicated that Onuorah was whisked away by 10 fully-armed policemen who stormed his residence in Lugbe, Abuja, in two Sienna buses at about 6 pm on Wednesday.
According to the statement, Onuorah was arrested in the presence of his wife and children who fruitlessly demanded from the police why they were arresting the head of the family without getting any answer.
The policemen reportedly seized Mr. Onuorah’s phones, thereby completely cutting him off from communication with people, including his family members.
“He was not even allowed to contact his lawyer or any of his relations before he was whisked away to the Lugbe police station by the stern looking operatives.
“To make sure Mr. Onuorah did not get attention or bail, the policemen who arrested him, though not of the Lugbe Police Station, simply dumped him at the Station and left no traces for friends and family members to reach them,” the management of the newspaper said.
It was however gathered that the veteran journalist was taken from the Lugbe police station and was being transported to Ebonyi State as at the time of filing in this story.
Meanwhile, the Management of Globalupfront Newspapers has demanded immediate and unconditional release of Onuorah from by the police.
The newspaper management noted that Mr. Onuorah is an experienced journalist, former Abuja Bureau Chief of The Guardian Newspaper, former Managing-Director of The AUTHORITY Newspaper, who operates within the ambit of the law and that anybody who has any issue against him should approach the law court and not turn the Nigerian Police into a Gestapo outfit that bullies a man in the presence of his wife and children.
“That any second Mr. Onuorah spends in police custody constitutes a serious infringement against his fundamental rights and a continuation of the assault on freedom of expression that has become frequent occurrence in Nigeria recently,” the Management of Globalupfront Newspapers demanded.
