Police Teargas Protesters Demanding Release Of Detained Premium Times Journalist

Protesters were on Thursday teargassed at the force headquarters, Abuja, during a protest to demand the release of Premium Times reporter, Samuel Ogundipe.

The journalist was on Tuesday arrested for writing a story based on a letter written by Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of police (IGP), to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

Members of the OurMumuDonDo Movement and other civil society organisation were among the protesters teargassed by the police.

The protesters arrived the headquarters of the force as early as 9am to protest the arrest and detention of Ogundipe with the hashtag #FreeSamuelOgundipe.

However, police officers formed a ring at the gate to prevent the protesters from gaining entry into the building.

Subsequently, they sprayed teargas at the protesters, causing a number of them to scurry for safety. Some of the protesters who inhaled the teargas became unconscious.

Charles Oputa, better known as Charly Boy, Deji Adeyanju, and Omoyele Sowore were among the activists at the protest.

Jimoh Moshood, police spokesman, said Ogundipe is not being persecuted, adding that the police have the right to investigate any allegation.

“Even though we have the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), the act itself is restricted to some classified documents and that is what we are investigating, he said.

“The document in question does not fall under the FOI act therefore we are not asking him about the source of the information but the source of the document.”

The protesters have vowed to continue demanding for the release of Ogundipe, insisting that they cannot be intimidated by the police.