OPINION: CONTINUED DETENTION OF FAMILY WRITERS PRESS JOURNALISTS BY NIGERIA SARS POLICE IS A SLAP TO INT'L PRESS COUNCIL AND A RAPE TO GLOBAL JOURNALISM
By Mazi Onyebuchi Eze
For Family Writers Press
On November 4, 2017, the day of the massively boycotted Enugu State LGA election, Nigerian government murderous wing of its Police Force code named Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) unlawfully arrested 2 Family Writers Press journalists with name Egwuatu Chukz and Prince Dan and 3 other Biafra journalists who were on duty during the election covering the election update. It was due to commitment of these young and energetic Biafra journalists in sensational coverage and report back to the newsroom of Family Writers Press for onward publication and dissemination that made the Nigerian SARS police to track them down and have them arrested on duty on the election day. These young men did not commit any crime in the course of covering the election which was massively boycotted by the Enugu state residents.
However, a sketchy information at the disposal of Family Writers Press provided that the SARS police arrested these Journalists due to the frustration inherent in the election boycott as a transfer of aggression and not actually that they committed any crime. They were arrested because the SARS Police view them as more activists of Biafra than being journalists.
Now that Nigeria police Force of Enugu State command has completed investigation into the young Family Writers Press journalists and find nothing incriminating as evidence that they have committed any crime against the state, is it not time for them to release these young journalists? They have been detained for too long in the SARS police custody as if they committed any crime. It is time for Nigeria police Force Enugu State command to release Mazi Egwuatu Chukz and Prince Dan so that they can reunite with their families and friends.
It is time for us to call on International Press Council (IPC) and Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) to as a matter of urgency prevail on Nigerian Police Force to quickly release these Journalists because their continued detention is a slap to International Press Council, an attack on Nigerian Union of Journalist and a rape on global journalism. It is tantamount to organized lawlessness for a security agency of repute in Nigeria like police to be the agency being pushed into the executive lawlessness of Nigeria government. International Press Council must say "No" to the continued incarceration of the Family Writers Press journalists because they did not commit any crime when they were captured on duty on November 4, 2017.
There are numerous local and international laws and protocols governing the press and its practitioners which provides them with the needed security but Nigerian government has no respect for these protocols. Family Writers Press where Egwuatu Chukz and Prince Dan serve is an international media organization of repute. Family Writers Press has its correspondents in different countries of the world such as United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Cote D'Ivoire, Mozambique, within Biafraland and Nigeria at large. Family Writers Press work in synergy with many intentional media outlets such as Radio France International, France 24, Al-Jazeera, Reuters, AFP, BBC and CNN to mention but a few in the area of supplying unbiased analysis of locus in quo of events around Africa and beyond. Therefore, there is no how field journalists of such globally recognized media outlets like Family Writers Press will indulge in a crime warranting arrest on duty as they cover the election which people massively boycotted because they have rejected Nigeria elections.
It is important to make Nigeria government know that instead of arresting innocent journalists because people willingly boycotted election in Enugu State, they should rather address the issues leading to the election boycott which the innocent journalists has no hand in facilitating. It is still the statutory obligation of journalists everywhere in the world including inside Enugu State where the election was boycotted to hunt for information and report it to the world as news. Family Writers Press field journalists in Enugu namely Egwuatu Chukz and Prince Dan did not commit any crime for going out to tell the world how the eventually boycotted Enugu LGA election took place.
So, it is important for International Press Protection Act and Conventions to be invoked now as to compel Nigeria police Force in Enugu State Command to release these innocent journalists because no crime has been traced to them. I rest my case!
By Mazi Onyebuchi Eze
For Family Writers Press
On November 4, 2017, the day of the massively boycotted Enugu State LGA election, Nigerian government murderous wing of its Police Force code named Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) unlawfully arrested 2 Family Writers Press journalists with name Egwuatu Chukz and Prince Dan and 3 other Biafra journalists who were on duty during the election covering the election update. It was due to commitment of these young and energetic Biafra journalists in sensational coverage and report back to the newsroom of Family Writers Press for onward publication and dissemination that made the Nigerian SARS police to track them down and have them arrested on duty on the election day. These young men did not commit any crime in the course of covering the election which was massively boycotted by the Enugu state residents.
However, a sketchy information at the disposal of Family Writers Press provided that the SARS police arrested these Journalists due to the frustration inherent in the election boycott as a transfer of aggression and not actually that they committed any crime. They were arrested because the SARS Police view them as more activists of Biafra than being journalists.
Now that Nigeria police Force of Enugu State command has completed investigation into the young Family Writers Press journalists and find nothing incriminating as evidence that they have committed any crime against the state, is it not time for them to release these young journalists? They have been detained for too long in the SARS police custody as if they committed any crime. It is time for Nigeria police Force Enugu State command to release Mazi Egwuatu Chukz and Prince Dan so that they can reunite with their families and friends.
It is time for us to call on International Press Council (IPC) and Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) to as a matter of urgency prevail on Nigerian Police Force to quickly release these Journalists because their continued detention is a slap to International Press Council, an attack on Nigerian Union of Journalist and a rape on global journalism. It is tantamount to organized lawlessness for a security agency of repute in Nigeria like police to be the agency being pushed into the executive lawlessness of Nigeria government. International Press Council must say "No" to the continued incarceration of the Family Writers Press journalists because they did not commit any crime when they were captured on duty on November 4, 2017.
There are numerous local and international laws and protocols governing the press and its practitioners which provides them with the needed security but Nigerian government has no respect for these protocols. Family Writers Press where Egwuatu Chukz and Prince Dan serve is an international media organization of repute. Family Writers Press has its correspondents in different countries of the world such as United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Cote D'Ivoire, Mozambique, within Biafraland and Nigeria at large. Family Writers Press work in synergy with many intentional media outlets such as Radio France International, France 24, Al-Jazeera, Reuters, AFP, BBC and CNN to mention but a few in the area of supplying unbiased analysis of locus in quo of events around Africa and beyond. Therefore, there is no how field journalists of such globally recognized media outlets like Family Writers Press will indulge in a crime warranting arrest on duty as they cover the election which people massively boycotted because they have rejected Nigeria elections.
It is important to make Nigeria government know that instead of arresting innocent journalists because people willingly boycotted election in Enugu State, they should rather address the issues leading to the election boycott which the innocent journalists has no hand in facilitating. It is still the statutory obligation of journalists everywhere in the world including inside Enugu State where the election was boycotted to hunt for information and report it to the world as news. Family Writers Press field journalists in Enugu namely Egwuatu Chukz and Prince Dan did not commit any crime for going out to tell the world how the eventually boycotted Enugu LGA election took place.
So, it is important for International Press Protection Act and Conventions to be invoked now as to compel Nigeria police Force in Enugu State Command to release these innocent journalists because no crime has been traced to them. I rest my case!
Free Prince Dan and Chuks Eegwuatu. Their detention by the Nigerian Gustapo is because they feared the truth. These Hausa Fulani dominated thugs must know that harassment and detention of Biafran Journalists will stop the restoration of Biafra. Listen Up Chaps, You are very wrong !
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