by Nurat Uthman
Men of the Nigeria Police on Wednesday abducted the editor of an online newspaper, Global Upfront, Madu Onuorah.
Onuorah, who also doubles as the newspaper’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, was whisked away by the security operatives at about 6 p.m. in the presence of his wife and children, the management said.
It was learnt that about 10 fully-armed policemen no stormed his residence in Lugbe, Abuja, in two Sienna buses and took the editor without presenting a warrant of arrest, while he’s remained incommunicado with his family members, lawyer, and his workplace.
In a statement signed by the newspaper’s management, dated May 23, 2024, and obtained by newsmen, the management noted that “anybody who has any issue against Mr. Onuorah should approach the law court and not turn the Nigeria Police into a Gestapo outfit that bullies a man in the presence of his wife and children.”
It urged the police to release Onuorah “immediately and unconditionally,” adding 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 a frequent occurrence in Nigeria recently.”
The management also indicated that while the policemen who abducted the newspaper’s EIC were “not of the Lugbe Police Station,” they “simply dumped him at the station and left no traces for friends and family members to reach them.”
Onuorah is an experienced journalist, a former Abuja Bureau Chief of The Guardian Newspaper, and a former Managing Director of The Authority Newspaper “who operates within the ambit of the law.”
