A former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has carpeted the Federal Government over the arrest of a Blogger, Precious Eze, by the Department of State Services.
Though there has been no official communication on Eze’s arrest, The Eagle Online learnt he is being held by the DSS.
Speaking on the development, Abubakar said it was sad that the Blogger could be arrested despite a vow by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to respect freedom of speech and the press.
The Eagle Online recalls that President Tinubu made the promise when he hosted the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Reacting to the arrest of Eze on his X handle on Tuesday, Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the February 25, 2023 presidential election, said: “Only yesterday, this administration assured that it will always uphold press freedom and respect public opinions.
“But those words are hollow and do not match with the actions of state agencies.
“Just last week, Precious Eze was abducted by security agents in his Gbagada home in Lagos.
“There was no word to explain his whereabouts and why he was being detained until Nigerians started to raise an alert about the plight of Precious.
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“Notwithstanding what the young man may have done, the agencies of the state must let his family, friends, and indeed Nigerians know about his whereabouts.
“This aligns with the spirit of democracy, freedom of speech and respect for journalists to do their jobs of holding government to account without jackboot intimidation.”
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