Gidado
Yushau, Editor NewsDigest and Adebowale
Gidado
Yushau, Editor NewsDigest and Adebowale Adekoya, a Professional
Website in Police Station after their arrest on an investigative
report
Police Release NewsDigest’s Editor, Webmaster…. CISLAC
Reacts
… Investigation continues on the investigative report
over Ex-CBN Chief’s Factory
The arrested Editor and webmaster of NewsDigest, an Abuja-based
online newspaper, Mr. Gidado Yushau and Mr. Adebowale Adekoya, have
been released by the Kwara State Police Command after they were
thoroughly quizzed for publishing an investigative report in May
2018.
The Chairman Board of Directors of Image Merchants Promotions
Limited (IMPR), Publishers of PRNigeria[1], Dr. Sule Yau Sule made
the disclosure this morning.
IMPR is the parent company of the NewsDigest.
Sule said after preliminary interrogation of the two
NewsDigest’s workers, both Gidado and Adekoya, were released on
bail, but asked to return next Monday with Alfred Olufemi for
further questioning on the investigative report published by the
medium.
The story titled, “Inside Kwara factory where Indian hemp
smoking is ‘legalized.” was written by an award-winning campus
journalist and investigative reporter, Mr. Alfred Olufemi, who is a
student of one of the foremost universities in Nigeria.
In the report, it was stated that Hillcrest Agro-Alied Industry,
owned by a former acting governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mrs
Sarah Alade, tolerated the smoking of cigarettes as well as Indian
hemp by workers saddled with the responsibility of loading and
off-loading processed and unprocessed grains in trucks without
being sanctioned
Gidado and Adekoya were arrested by detectives of the Lagos
State and Kwara Police Command, last Friday, and on Tuesday,
respectively. While Adebowale was picked up at his house in Lagos,
Gidado was arrested in Abuja, at his Wuye District residence. They
were conveyed to Ilorin early Wednesday morning, by four Police
detectives, in a blue-coloured vehicle.
Sule said the condition of one of the released staff, who was
seriously sick, worsened during the long journeys and detention by
the Police.
“There is the need for the released staff to be given urgent and
proper treatment, after a thorough medical examination might have
been conducted on them.”
The Chairman who condemned the arrest and detention of the two
young men, said whatever reservation the agency may have on any
news published, proper and civilised channels are there for a
complaint to be made.
“Living in society where freedom of expression and association
is said to be guarded only for the security agencies to trampled on
such privilege is condemnable and unacceptable.
“There many agencies whose responsibilities are to check the
excesses of the media, then why the haste in hauling innocent
journalists behind the bar,” he said.
Similarly, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre
(CISLAC), said they are worried by the recent but alarming arrest
and detention of Nigerian journalists as expressed in a report by
Amnesty International.
CISLAC Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, in a release,
maintained and reiterated the organisation’s position for social
justice and press freedom.
Rafsanjani recalled that Gidado who is also the anchor of Youth
Digest, has been in the fore front of training young investigative
journalists on accountability in the public sector, as demonstrated
in “Campus Investigative Journalists Workshop”, where campus
students were trained on effective reportage, recently organized by
CISLAC in collaboration with Youth Digest.
He said: “This is in addition to the Campus Journalism Awards,
where best performing Campus Journalists were rewarded and
encouraged in January 2019.
“We are not unaware of the media role in influencing public
opinion, shaping political agenda, providing a link between the
government and the people, while acting as the government watchdog
in advancing good governance.”
He continued: “We also recall the crucial importance of the
media in the promotion of democracy and rule of law; just as media
is indispensable for people to be informed and to effectively
participate in a democracy.
“It is on this premise that CISLAC will continue to support
young investigative journalists to pursue various legal means to
expose corruption and illegalities in our society, as this forms
the basis of good governance, transparency and accountability
CISLAC advocates and upholds”.