Defence Intelligence Agency holding missing FirstNews editor – IPI

The Nigeria Chapter of the International Press Institute said, on Wednesday, that the missing editor of FirstNews, Segun Olatunji, has been traced to the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency.

This was as the Nigerian Army told The Punch it had no hands in the arrest of the editor or the knowledge of his whereabouts.

DIA is an agency under the command of Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye, who, in turn, reports to the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa.

Olatunji, a former Kaduna State correspondent of The Punch, was said to have been arrested by suspected military personnel on March 15 in his Lagos home in Iyana Odo, Abule Egba area of Lagos.

His family and colleagues have demanded to know his whereabouts but efforts to get him have proved abortive.

Olatunji’s wife, Oluwatosin, said her husband was asthmatic and had an ulcer, calling on the government to get him released.

A military source, who preferred anonymity, had on Sunday told The PUNCH that Olatunji was in the DIA custody.

“Segun is not with the Army, or the Department of State Services as being speculated. He is being held in the custody of the DIA, “ the source said.

In a statement on Wednesday by its Nigeria’s President, Musikilu Mojeed,the IPI also asserted that Olatunji was in the custody of the DIA.

The institute, therefore, urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Chief of Defence Staff to produce Olatunji.

The IPI said, “Multiple checks by IPI Nigeria reveal that Mr. Olatunji is in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency, an agency under the command of Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye, who, in turn, reports to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Musa.

“For the past 11 days, the abducted journalist had been kept incommunicado, with his family, employers, and colleagues unaware of his whereabouts. That had triggered speculations among journalists and human rights activists around the world that the Nigerian military might be keeping some vital information away from the public concerning the journalist’s safety.

“IPI Nigeria is, therefore, calling on President Tinubu to direct the Nigerian military authorities to immediately release Mr. Olatunji or charge him to court if he has committed any offence. The international community should also pay attention to the unjust detention of Mr. Olatunji by the Nigerian military.

“The rule of law demands that an accused person be allowed to defend himself in a court of law within a reasonable time. This also conforms with the provisions of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, which forbids the detention of any citizen or resident beyond 48 hours, except with a valid court order.”

On March 15, armed men numbering about 10 with two unmarked vans reportedly stormed Olatunji’s home in Alagbado, Lagos State. Today (Thursday) marks the 13th day of the editor’s alleged abduction.

According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit organisation that promotes press freedom worldwide, the editor’s wife, identified as Abiodun Oluwakemi, said two of the men who stormed their house wore military-style uniforms and introduced themselves as officers of the Nigerian Army.

Reportedly, her several pleas to allow her husband go fell on the deaf ears of the armed men, who insisted that Olatunde must follow them.

However, in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday, the Director of Defence Information of the DefenCe Headquarters, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, said he was not aware of the editor’s arrest or any letter written to that effect.

“I am not aware of any arrest or petition,” he simply stated in a WhatsApp chat following an inquiry by our correspondent.

Also, a source in the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army told our correspondent that the editor was not in the custody of the unit.

The source said, “Has anybody confirmed that he is in military custody? I am sure that the person is not in the custody of the 81 Division.”

The Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria have all joined several others to raise concern over the journalist abduction.

The management of FirstNews had also written to the Chief of Defence Staff, demanding to know the whereabouts of its editor, Olatunji.

In the letter titled “Arrest and Detention of Mr. Segun Olatunji, Editor FirstNews” and signed by the publisher, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the news outfit appealed to the CDS to help them ascertain the exact location of the journalist.

The letter read in part, “As a responsible and law-abiding media organisation, we are requesting that you help us ascertain the whereabouts of our editor, if truly he is in your custody, grant his family, doctor, and lawyers access to him, make known to us his offense, if he had committed one, and charge him to court if the offense is grievous, so he can have the opportunity to defend himself.”