Court orders arrest of ‘abducted’ The Sun newspapers’ editor for alleged contempt of court

John Ukpai also ordered the arrest of Chuks Onuoha, the Abia correspondent of The Sun Newspapers.
A Chief Magistrate at an Umuahia Magistrate Court in Abia State, on Monday, ordered the arrest of Ebere Wabara, the Associate Editor of The Sun Newspapers, for alleged failure to appear in court.
John Ukpai also ordered the arrest of Chuks Onuoha, the Abia correspondent of The Sun Newspaper, who secured bail for Mr. Wabara on Saturday.
Mr. Wabara, who is also the Special Adviser, Media, to former Abia State governor, Orji Kalu, was abducted from his Lagos home on Friday by police officers from the Abia State Police Command.
He was later released on bail on Saturday, reportedly based on the intervention of the police headquarters.
He was arraigned before an Umuahia magistrate court, on Monday, on a 10-count charge of sedition and malicious publications in different editions of The Sun Newspapers.
The prosecution counsel, Chukwunyere Nwabuko, said that Mr. Wabara, along with others at large, allegedly authored defamatory article in The Sun Newspaper of March 10, page 21, entitled “T.A. Orji’s 7 years Demystification of Kalu’.
In the article, which was a rejoinder to a February 21 opinion piece in The Guardian and titled ‘Demystifying a master strategist’ by one Godwin Adindu, the President-General of the Abia Renaissance Movement; Mr. Wabara accused the Abia State governor of engaging in propaganda to hype his achievements in the state.
“The hyped achievements of T. A. Orji are only read in newspapers, viewed on TV channels and heard on radio stations! There is nothing on ground to substantiate the orchestration of propaganda.
“Last week, Channels TV showed Orji inaugurating few blocks of classrooms amid fanfare. Even youth corps members these days build and donate classroom blocks, let alone the governor of an oil-producing state,” Mr. Wabara had written.
“Adindu equally talked about ‘Kalu’s family’s political dynasty.’ All over the world there are family political dynasties. Even Orji has his own calamitous dynasty with his son and heir-apparent, Chinedu (notoriously known as Ikuku), as the head. Even children still in diapers in Abia State know this full well. It is not a secret affair as his terrorist activities in the state are fully documented.”
The prosecution counsel told the court that the publication was intended to discredit the Abia State governor in different editions of the newspaper and injure the reputation of Chinedu Orji, the governor’s son.
“The publication also intended to expose Chinedu to hatred, contempt or ridicule by describing him as a terrorist, knowing same to be false, thereby committed an offence.
“The offence is punishable under the Criminal Code Cap 80 Vol 3 Laws of Abia State of Nigeria 2005,” Mr. Nwabuko added.
Mr. Nwabuko alleged that Mr. Wabara had in one of his publications alleged that Chinedu, on March 15, ordered the shooting of his former Personal Assistant, late John Ndubuka.
According to him, the license to write does not confer on Mr. Wabara the license to malicious writing and sedition against law abiding citizens.
Efforts made by the News Agency of Nigeria to get Mr. Wabara’s reaction on the development were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Mr. Onuoha, who secured his bail, told NAN on phone that he was not aware that Wabara was served any summons by the court.
He said that Mr. Wabara arrived in Umuahia late on Saturday and was released on bail same night by the police.
According to him, the defendant went back to Lagos by bus on Sunday morning and was said to have taken ill and hospitalised shortly after.
“The directive I got for his bail was that I should produce him at the police headquarters on Monday morning. I am not aware of the court order for his arrest or arraignment,” Mr. Onuoha said.