UPDATE: Two out of the four LEADERSHIP staff being held at the Police headquarters have been moved to an undisclosed destination.?
The two, Tony Amoekedo (Group News Editor) and Chibuzo Ukaibe (Correspondent) were taken away a few minutes ago.
The two others are still being held. A top source disclosed that “there’s an order from above” to keep the four there until they disclose the source of the bromide published in the article.
Earlier, we reported:
Four members of staff of LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group are being detained at the Police headquarters in Abuja over a recent exclusive story on a “presidential directive” targeting the opposition and containing plans to raise petrol prices, among other things.
LEADERSHIP had earlier reported that between Wednesday when the newspaper first published the story and yesterday, police officers have visited the newspaper’s head office in Abuja three times, demanding to see the journalists who wrote the story.
The psychological siege climaxed yesterday with a summons to the newspaper to appear at Force Headquarters in Abuja this morning.
Thus, our Managing Editor Mr. Chuks Ohuegbe, Head of Human Resource, Mrs. Chinyere Fred-Adegbulugbe, News Editor Mr. Tony Amoekedo and our correspondent Chibuzor Ukaibe presented themselves for questioning earlier today.
Tony Amoekedo and Chibuzor Ukaibe were asked to write a statement, which they did. They were then asked to disclose the source of the bromide published with the article. But the news editor replied that it is against the ethics of the profession to do so.
Based on their insistence to keep the source secret, the Police have refused to let them go.
At the moment, they are being kept by three officers from the office of the DIG on the 7th floor.
More details soon.
Read background here:
http://www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/51638/2013/04/08/jonathan_unleashes_police_leadership.html