Detained Leadership Newspapers Staff Released Unconditionally




Reports reaching our newsdesk, has it that Tony Amoekedo and Chibuzor Ukaibe, the Leadership Newspapers staff who were held by security agents have been released without any conditions.

There has been a lot of anger and agitation among political pundits and observers over their arrest, because the country is supposed to be under a democratic government that encourages freedom of press.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, had also demanded the immediate release of the reporters or the union would have no option that to sue the police on Wednesday.

"We told them that the era of arresting reporters over stories published is gone with the military and if the 48 hrs allowed by law to keep them in detention lapsed without them releasing our members, we would have had no option than to go to court," Mohammed Garba, the NUJ chairman, said in a telephone interview.

Four journalists from the media house were initially arrested by the police who earlier released two of them. The media house said on Monday that the police insisted the journalists disclose their source(s) for a story the presidency claims to be false which the newspaper insists it stands on



Naij