Journalists Under Threat: Travail Of Idumonza Isiahomhen

<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>COMMITTEE FOR THE DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS &lpar;CDHR&rpar; CHARGES THE NIGERIA POLICE ON INTIMIDATION AND HARRASMENT&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>CALLS FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND THE PRESS<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Committee for the Defence of Human Rights &lpar;CDHR&rpar; has furiously condemned and berated the reckless&comma; unlawful and provocative intimidation&comma; harassment and threat of invasion and arrest of Mr&period; Adumonza Isiahomhen&comma; an Online Journalist&comma; Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of OpenLife&comma; by Police Officers from the Criminal Investigation Department of Ekiti State Police Command&comma; led by one Ade&period; The attempt of forceful invasion into Mr&period; Idumonza’s Office at Plot 7&comma; Ilapo Estate&comma; opposite AIT Alagbado&comma; Lagos&comma; yesterday Friday 3rd September&comma; 2021 by Police Officers from the Ekiti State Command&comma; Ado-Ekiti&comma; following a story originated from an anonymous parent of a student of Afe Babalola University&comma; Ado-Ekiti&comma; titled Afe Babalola University in Rumbles as Parents Complain of Fraud&comma; published on Thursday&comma; August 19&comma; 2021&comma; was a clear manifestation of the violation of the Journalist’s constitutionally guaranteed rights to privacy and freedom of expression and the Press&comma; by the Officers of the Nigeria Police&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It was gathered on Friday&comma; 3rd September&comma; 2021 that errant Police Officers&comma; claim to be in possession of a purported petition but refused to inform the Journalist who the Petitioner is and they refused to avail the Journalist with a copy of the petition despite the request by the Journalist&period; Apparently&comma; the Officers are determined to get the Journalist arrested this weekend&period; Thus&comma; without provocation and without justification&comma; they had apparently attempted to invade the Lagos Office of the Online Journalist in search of him for his arrest&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary&comma; Comrade &lpar;Barr&rpar; Henry Ekine&comma; made available to the Press&comma; CDHR described the attempted invasion and unjustified threat of arrest of Comrade Idumonza as not only reckless but insensitive and callous&period; Comrade Ekine&comma; on behalf of the President&comma; Comrade &lpar;Dr&period;&rpar; Osagie Obayuwana&comma; the National Executive Committee and members of CDHR&comma; expressed the commitment of the Organization to the protection and defence of Human Rights of all persons&period; Injury to one is injury to all&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>CDHR therefore called on the Inspector General of Police&comma; Mr&period; Usman Baba Alkali&comma; the Commissioner of Police&comma; Ekiti State Command and the Commissioner of Police&comma; Lagos State Command&comma; to swiftly intervene in this matter and ensure that the Journalist is not unjustly intimidated&comma; harassed or arrested&period; The Human Rights Group demanded that the Inspector General of Police must caution Police Officers and Personnel to uphold Citizens’ Rights&period; This case&comma; just clearly reveals the disturbing level of insensitivity to the rights of citizens&semi; it shows gross intolerance against matters of Human Rights and Civil Rights Activists by some Policemen and other security agents&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Comrade Ekine decried how Human Rights activists have become targets for harassment by some security agents&period; CDHR expressed worry over the level to which the respect for Human Rights in the country has degenerated and how some Policemen have become the enemies of the citizens&semi; they have become the perpetrators of the violation of the Rights of innocent citizens&period; The Police need to be more professional with the objective to promote and protect the rights of all citizens at all times&semi; the right to freedom of expression and the Press remains a fundamental right and must be protected&comma; especially by state agents in all circumstances&period; The Police must not be willing tools in the hands of people&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The foremost human rights group emphasised that the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed under Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria&comma; 1999&comma; as amendment&comma; as well as under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights&semi; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights&comma; as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights&period; If any individual or institution feels offended by a privileged or fair publication such individual is advised to approach the Court in a civil defamation action not to employ state actors to harass and intimidate citizens with threat of arrest&period; The state has the positive responsibility to ensure the protection of Citizens’ Rights&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;