News
Police summons PREMIUM TIMES journalist over yet-to-be-published story
By Francesca Hangeior.
The police have summoned a PREMIUM TIMES reporter, Emmanuel Agbo, over a yet-to-be-published report that he is working on.
Agbo received an invitation letter dated 31 May 2024 from the office of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Intelligence Response Team (NPF-IRT), Abuja, via Whatsapp on Monday.
The police sent the letter after Agbo requested a formal invitation instead of their initial phone call invitation.
Agbo was first contacted over the telephone by a police officer named Ezemba Ezekiel on 30 May, requesting him to come over to the office Intelligence Response Team (NPF-IRT) in Guzape, Abuja.
“I am Ezemba Ezekiel from the Intelligence Response Team. I am calling you on behalf of Homadils. You are expected to come over to our office at Abattoir in Guzape to clarify a petition,” he said via phone call.
The firm, Homadils Realty Limited, referenced by the police officer in the phone conversation, is a land developer and major party to a land dispute which Mr Agbo’s planned story is focusing on.
The police invitation came after Agbo earlier reached out to the Chief Executive Officer of Homadils, Bilkisu Aliu, over the phone and further exchanged messages on Whatsapp where she shared with the PREMIUM TIMES journalists her reactions to allegations levelled against her by a family laying claim to the land in dispute.
After the phone call invitation with the police on Monday, Agbo asked Ezekiel, the police officer who initiated the phone call, to make the police invitation formal by writing to him through PREMIUM TIMES.
Following this request, Ezekiel sent an invitation letter dated 31 May to Agbo via WhatsApp on Monday.
The invitation from the IRT only stated that Mr Agbo’s name surfaced in a petition without giving any details.
It further requested the PREMIUM TIMES journalist to appear on Wednesday, 5 June, at 2 p.m. at the IRT Complex, Old Abattoir by Guzape Junction, Abuja.
Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES has responded to the invitation letter, assuring the police of its readiness to support their investigation and requesting details of the petition they received from Homaldis.
“We have received a letter from you to our reporter, Agbo Emmanuel, in which you invited him to appear before you on 05/06/2024 at your office at ‘IRT Complex, Old Abbatoir by Guzape Junction, Abuja’. We received the letter today, 03-06-2024, although it is dated 31-05-2024,” the Managing Editor of PREMIUM TIMES, Idris Akinbajo, wrote in the letter delivered at the of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, IRT, on Monday.
The letter added: “We, Premium Times, are an online newspaper dedicated to using investigative journalism to hold power accountable and deepen democracy as enshrined in Section 22 of the Nigerian Constitution.
“We are thus always ready to assist law enforcement agencies in the course of their professional duties.
However, in your letter to Emmanuel Agbo, you only stated that your ‘office is in receipt of petition…’ but did not provide any details of the petition.
“We ask that you provide more details of the petition to enable our reporter, Mr Agbo, to make adequate preparations and bring along relevant materials when he appears in your office.
“We trust that you will treat this promptly so we and Emmanuel Agbo can prepare adequately and assist you in the course of your work.
“Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or clarifications.”
From the interaction with the police officer who first invited Agbo through phone call, the police invitation has to do with a dispute involving Homadils Realty Limited and a family over a prized piece of land in Guzape, a choice area of Abuja.
The dispute has thrown up allegations of document falsifications which, we learnt, are being investigated by the Federal Capital Development Authority.
Journalists targetted
There has been a recent upsurge in the cases of police targeting journalists for doing their legitimate work in Nigeria.
In one of the recent cases, the police detained the Executive Director of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Dayo Aiyetan, and an investigative journalist with the platform, Nurudeen Akewushola, for over nine hours.
Both journalists honoured the invitation of the police and arrived at the NPF-NCCC office at noon on Tuesday but were held and only released after 9 p.m.
The newspaper had raised an alarm and journalists and activists immediately took to social media and berated the police, even as they called for their immediate release.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has began airlifting the sensitive election materials for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Benin, Edo State, ahead of the upcoming governorship election scheduled for September 21, 2024.
This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Deputy Director, Public Relations and Information, Group Captain Kabiru Ali.
The operation is part of the NAF’s efforts to ensure the timely and secure delivery of materials necessary for a smooth electoral process.
This development reinforces the collaboration between NAF and INEC to facilitate logistics and ensure a peaceful election in Edo State.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, had previously reiterated NAF’s commitment to providing airlift support for the swift movement of electoral materials during a meeting with INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.
This airlift operation is a crucial aspect of NAF’s constitutional responsibility to provide Military Aid to Civil Authority, underscoring the force’s dedication to supporting democratic processes in Nigeria. With the election just days away, the NAF’s timely intervention will help ensure the successful conduct of the governorship elections in Edo State.
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State had earlier accused the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, of working with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hunt the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members and supporters in the state and force them into hiding ahead of September 21 governorship election.
Obaseki, who made the allegation when a delegation led by the former Head of State, Abdusalam Abubakar, met with him to get the governor and his party to sign peace accord, said that the IGP had made nonsense of his (Obaseki’s) role as the chief security officer of the state.
The governor had said that the police chief obtained a warrant to arrest 60 members and supporters of PDP in Edo and that the IGP sent an armed “gang” of policemen who invaded the state, attacked PDP members, shot at a local government chairman and arrested 10 persons who are currently being detained in Abuja without charges.
Asked by the former head of state if his party would sign the peace accord, Obaseki said, “The person who is supposed to enforce the peace accord is now an active participant in creating a destructive environment.
“We are now in a situation where from the Inspector General’s office, there are armed gang policemen who came into Edo State, invaded, arrested and took away PDP members.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has given reasons why he loves dancing.
The ‘Dancing Governor’, as he is fondly called, revealed this on Wednesday while responding to a tweet on X.
An X user, @Iwogoke, while praising the governor, stated that Adeleke has been busy fulfilling his electoral promises to the people of Osun State, while his political opponents believe he is only good at dancing.
Iwogoke tweeted, “I’m not flattering you, Your Excellency, your opponents think you can only dance but while they are busy shouting and calling you ‘Dancing Governor’, you are busy fulfilling your electoral promises to the people.”
Responding to the tweet via his verified X account, Adeleke explained that he loves dancing because it brings him joy.
Speaking further on his love for dancing, Adeleke highlighted that while dancing brings him immense happiness, his greater fulfilment comes from delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of Osun.
Outlining his administration’s efforts to enhance the state’s infrastructure, he noted that primary health centre rehabilitation is underway in at least 200 out of the 332 wards across Osun State, adding that road construction projects are also progressing in every local government area.
He wrote, “Dancing gives me joy, but delivering on my electoral promises and providing the dividends of democracy to the good people of Osun gives me even greater joy. Rehabilitation of primary health centers is ongoing in at least 200 out of 332 wards, and road construction is progressing in every Local Government!”
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