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Tag: FirstNews

  • My ordeal won’t deter me, says FirstNews Editor

    My ordeal won’t deter me, says FirstNews Editor

    The editor of FirstNews, Segun Olatunji, has said the incident of his unjust abduction by the army will not deter him from pursuing the truth and to continue to expose corruption in high places. 

    He gave the indication at a radio interview when he appeared as guest of Splash F.M. over the weekend to narrate his ordeal. 

    He said the incident rather than cowering him had further strengthened his resolve to pursue and report the truth in line with the tenets and ethics of the journalism profession and went on to thank all  those who fought and pushed for his release.

    “I remain fearless and committed to my profession. I have been in this for years, and so rather than being deterred, it has strengthened my resolve to continue to use my pen to do justice to certain ills in our country. My gratitude goes out to all those who took part in facilitating my release. It is victory for journalism and democracy,” Olatunji said.

    The management of First Media Network Limited, publishers of FirstNews,  announced plans to secure an insurance policy for all its editorial staff.

    The development is coming on the heels of the recent abduction and release of its editor, Segun Olatunji, by operatives of the Nigerian Army.

    Olatunji was on March 15, 2023 forcibly taken away from his Lagos home and made to spend two weeks at a detention facility of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Abuja where he was tortured and subjected to all kinds of inhuman treatment.

    The management said the decision to secure the insurance cover for its editorial staff was reached at an extraordinary meeting of its board of directors held over the weekend.

    After reviewing the circumstances surrounding Olatunji’s abduction and unlawful incarceration, the management of the Lagos-based media outfit condemned the unfortunate incident, saying it could have resulted in his death.

    In a statement after the meeting, the media outfit noted that the unjust abduction and incarceration of its editor, served as a wake-up call for all its employers to be extra-vigilant and mindful of their safety as they go about their lawful duties. 

    Read Also: FirstNews editor’s where abouts unknown

    The statement reads in part: “If one of us for no just cause can be whisked away by a critical agency of government and in the process deployed the full power of the state at its disposal to ‘arrest’ an innocent citizen whose only offence was simply doing his job, then it’s imperative to reason that none of us is safe.

    ”In view of the this sad and dark reality that we no longer feel safe carrying out our lawful duties as members of the fourth estate of the realm, especially considering the stark revelations and painful ordeal of our editor in the hands of his captors, that we decided to take out a life insurance policy on every member of our editorial staff.

    “The decision became necessary as it seems the only plausible option available to management to give assurances to our staff and members of their families who are dealing with a siege mentality at the moment that peradventure the same scenario could play itself out.”

  • How abducted FirstNews Editor was released

    How abducted FirstNews Editor was released

    A Nigerian journalist, Segun Olatunji, regained his freedom on Thursday after 14 days in a military facility in Abuja.

    Olatunji’s release was made known on Thursday, March 28, at a joint press briefing by the International Press Institute, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, and the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Abuja.

    Olatunji, who is the Editor of FirstNews, an online medium, was allegedly abducted from his home in Lagos, on 15 March. He said hours later he was blindfolded and flown into Abuja on a military aircraft.

    However, the military authorities denied Olatunji’s abduction until Wednesday evening when they admitted detaining the journalist.

    When confronted by three journalists associations in Nigeria, the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, a general, and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Emmanuel Undiandeye, a major general, “lied that the journalist was not in their custody” while the journalist (Olatunji) was being detained and tortured by the Defence Intelligence Agency in Abuja.

    The Secretary of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Iyobosa Uwugiaren, read the joint press statement.

    At the press briefing on Thursday, Uwugiaren was flanked by Musikilu Mojeed, the Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times and President, the International Press Institute in Nigeria as well as the President of the NUJ, Chris Isiguzo, and Mr Olatunji.

    The IPI, NGE, and NUJ had consistently advocated for Olatunji’s release.

    Uwugiaren explained how Olatunji was released.

    He said that the DIA phoned Yomi Odunuga, a deputy editor at the Nation Newspaper, to come to its facility at the Asokoro District of Abuja to receive the detained journalist.

    While Odunuga was riding in a car with Uwugiaren in Abuja, he said the duo kept receiving phone calls from the DIA, directing them to different places where they were to receive Olatunji.

    He said the military personnel directed Odunuga and Uwugiaren to a bridge in Asokoro where Olatunji was eventually released to them after Odunuga signed a bail bond for the detained journalist.

    One of the conditions for Olatunji’s release, according to him, is that Odunuga must produce the former whenever he is required in court.

    Recounting his ordeal at the hands of the military, Olatunji said his life was no longer safe on account of the manner he was abducted from his home, blindfolded and tortured by the soldiers.

    He said the DIA had allegedly hacked his phone and tracking his movements for weeks before his abduction on March 15.

    Olatunji said: “My life is not safe because they (military) know my house. They had been trailing me three weeks before the arrest.

    “My life is no longer safe given the manner the soldiers tracked me from my village to Lagos before my abduction.

    “I was with my seven-year-old son when the army broke into the house. They bundled me into their vehicle.”

    On his experience while in detention, Olatunji said the military took away his eyeglasses before they blindfolded and handcuffed him.

    “I was blindfolded and groaning in pain. I can still feel the numbness on my right wrist because of the handcuffs. They cuffed my legs and put me in an underground cell.

     “Last night, I was asked to call someone who would stand as a surety. It was then that I phoned Yomi Odunuga.”

    He thanked Nigerian journalists and everyone who pressured the military for his release.

    At the press briefing on Thursday, the IPI, NGE, and NUJ urged President Bola Tinubu not to condone the arbitrary arrest and detention of Olatunji by the military.

    Read Also: FirstNews editor’s where abouts unknown

    They described the military’s action as “vicious, uncivilized and criminal.”

    Uwugiaren who spoke on behalf of others, said: “The action is alien to Nigeria’s democratic space. It is now clear that there are some officers in our military who are still finding it difficult to subject themselves to civil authority 24 years after our country returned to representative governance.

    “If officers in a military institution like the DIA could hack a journalist’s telephone, mishandle his wife, abduct him, detain him secretly for 14 days, and disobey senior officials of the Federal Government, then our democracy cannot be said to be safe.”

    He added that the military’s action was an attack on press freedom in Nigeria.

    “Without freedom of the press, our democracy is endangered,” he said while acknowledging the efforts of Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, in securing Olatunji’s release.

  • FirstNews editor’s where abouts unknown

    FirstNews editor’s where abouts unknown

    Three days after his abduction, the whereabouts of the FirstNews Editor, Segun Olatunji, remain unknown.

    His family and the paper’s publisher, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, have raised the alarm.

    They said despite their fervent efforts, there had been no word on Olatunji.

    According a statement by the publisher, Olatunji was whisked away from his home in the Iyana Odo area of Abule Egba, Lagos State, when a group of armed individuals, two of them in camouflage, stormed their house, collected his phone and forcibly took him away without explanation.

    Read Also: Suspected soldiers ‘abduct’ FirstNews Editor Olatunji

    They left without giving any information to his family members.

    Iworiso-Markson, reiterated the shock and concern surrounding Olatunji’s disappearance.

    He said despite attempts to contact him, Olatunji’s phone remained switched off, and neither his family nor the management of FirstNews had received any communication regarding the reason for his abduction.

    Iworiso-Markson said: “In the light of these events, FirstNews reiterates its commitment to journalistic integrity and ethical reporting.”  

  • Suspected soldiers ‘abduct’ FirstNews Editor Olatunji

    Suspected soldiers ‘abduct’ FirstNews Editor Olatunji

    Gunmen suspected to be soldiers on Friday abducted the editor of FirstNews, Segun Olatunji, at his home in the Iyana Odo, Abule Egba area of Lagos State.

    According to his wife, the armed men numbering ten, arrived at their residence, a few minutes after 6pm and whisked her husband away without leaving any information behind. 

    She said her husband’s abductors reached for his phone and seized it immediately they arrived before bundling him into a van like a common criminal and zoomed off.

    While further narrating the incident, she said efforts to know his offence or where they were talking him to were rebuffed by the stern-looking men. 

    “Some armed men dressed in military uniform totaling ten in number (two in uniform and the remaining 8 in mufti but all armed) arrived at our residence at Dauda Oriyomi street, Iyana Odo along Joke Ayo in Abule Egba area of Lagos State and took away my husband.

    “They refused to state his offence and where they were taken him to despite all the efforts to make them do so,” she said. 

    Publisher of First News, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, in a statement, confirmed the incident, saying there had been no trace of Olatunji. 

    He said his phone line had been switched, neither had anyone reached the family or the management of FirstNews to disclose the reason behind his abduction.

    While condemning the way and manner Olatunji was whisked away, Iworiso-Markson stated that he was never invited formally to answer any issue that bothered on national security.

    “The management of First News is using this opportunity to call on the military high command and the security agencies to let us know his whereabout and the reason why he was arrested. 

    “FirstNews (online & print) is a reputable independent digital news network that prides itself on being a frontline media outfit committed to engaging her world-class audience with factual, authentic, and credible information.

    Read Also: Kukah advocates purposeful leadership to address Nigeria’s economic challenges

    “We conduct our journalism activities with strict observance of the high standards of ethics, accountability, professionalism and legality, while exercising our rights to freedom of expression and information, all in a bid to ensure credible reporting of the news behind the news in Politics, Business, Education, Sport, Health, Entertainment and many more.

    “If there was any infraction that bothers on national security, Olatunji should have first been formally invited rather that this gestapo style of arrest that reminds of the dark days of the military era, where press freedom was stifled”. 

    There are indications that the military action may not be unconnected to a recent story published on FirstNews titled Revealed: “Defence Chief running office like family business – Public Interest Lawyers.”