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Tag: Jones Abiri

  • Release Jones Abiri unconditionally, PACON tells DSS

    The Patriotism Advancement and Community Orientation Network (PACON) has urged the Department of State Service (DSS) to unconditionally release the re-arrested Bayelsa State tabloid publisher, Jones Abiri.

    Abiri, the publisher of the Weekly Source,  was arrested at Ayabowei Plaza in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, by security operatives suspected to be members of DSS.

    Abiri was discussing with his colleagues at the secretariat of the Bayelsa Independent Publishers Association (BIPA), when he was rounded up by the heavily armed men.

    Read also: Again, DSS arrests Jones Abiri in Bayelsa

    In 2016, the DSS arrested Abiri, alleging that he was the leader of a militant coalition, Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), which threatened to release missiles in the Niger Delta.

    He later regained freedom in 2018 following campaigns by national and international human rights groups.

    PACON, in a statement  by its Arch Convener, Aluzu Ebikebuna,  condemned his second arrest within three months after spending about two years in DSS detention without trial.

  • Again, DSS arrests Jones Abiri in Bayelsa

    A Bayelsa-based newspaper publisher, Jones Abiri was whisked  away yesterday by security personnel in plain clothes believed to be men of the Department of State Services (DSS).

    Abiri was arrested at Ayabowei Plaza in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

    It was gathered that the men stormed the area with a white Hilux van and black SUV.

    Abiri was reportedly discussing with his colleagues at the secretariat of the Bayelsa Independent Publishers Association, when he was rounded up by the heavily armed men.

    A source, who spoke in confidence said: “The armed men jumped out of the Hilux van threatening to shoot Abiri if he moved, only to be forced into the van.

    “They then zoomed off while the other vehicle closely followed behind. The guns they carried were similar to those of the secret service.”

    Read also: DSS denies working against electoral process in Rivers

    Another source added: “The men jumped out of the vehicles in a Gestapo fashion while he was chatting with his friends, shouting “you are under arrest”.

    “While he was demanding to know his offence, he was forcefully pushed into a waiting vehicle at gunpoint. Currently, his whereabouts are unknown.” In 2016, the DSS arrested Abiri, alleging that he was a militant leader.

    The DSS claimed that Abiri, a publisher of the Weekly Source, was the leader of the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, which threatened to release missiles in the Niger Delta region.

    He later regained freedom in 2018 following campaigns by national and international human rights groups.

  • DSS re-arrests Bayelsa publisher, Jones Abiri

    A Bayelsa-based newspaper publisher, Jones Abiri was whisked away on Saturday by security personnel in plain cloth believed to be men of the Department of State Services (DSS).

    Abiri was arrested at Ayabowei Plaza in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

    It was gathered gathered that the men stormed the area with a white Hilux van and black SUV.

    Abiri was reportedly discussing with his colleagues at the secretariat of the Bayelsa Independent Publishers Association, when he was rounded up by the heavily armed men.

    A source, who spoke in confidence said: ”The armed men jumped out of the hilux van threatening to shoot Abiri if he moved, only to be forced into the Hilux van.

    Read also: Man jumps to death in Ibadan

    “They then zoomed off while the other vehicle closely followed behind. The guns they carried were similar to those of the secret service.”

     

    Another source added: “The men jumped out of the vehicles in a gestapo fashion while he was chatting with his friends, said shouted ‘you are under arrest’.

    ‘While he was demanding to know his offence, he was forcefully pushed into a waiting vehicle at gunpoint. Currently, his whereabouts are unknown.”

    In 2016, the DSS arrested Abiri, alleging that he was a militant leader.

    The DSS claimed that Abiri, a publisher of the Weekly Source, was the leader of the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, which threatened to release missiles in the Niger Delta region.

    He later regained freedom in 2018 following campaigns national and international human rights groups.

  • Court awards N10m damages against DSS

    For illegally detaining journalist for 2 years

     

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared unlawful the detention of a journalist, Jones Abiri for two years without trial by the Department of State Service (DSS).

    In a judgment on Thursday, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba awarded N10 (as damages) and N500, 000 (as cost) against the DSS.

    The judgment was on a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Abiri, through the law firm of Femi Falana (SAN), which was prosecuted by a lawyer in the frim, Samuel Ogala.

    Justice Dimgba was of the view that, although the DSS has the power, under the law, to arrest anyone upon reasonable suspicion, the security agency was without powers to detain an individual beyond the time provided by the Constitution.

    He held that the decision by the DSS to detain Abiri for two years from July 21, 2016 until he was later taken to a Magistrate’s Court in Abuja in July this year, and his eventual release last month, amounted to a violation of his right to liberty, guaranteed by the Constitution.

    The judge, who noted that event with the DSS’ claim that the applicant was arrested upon suspicion of destruction of oil pipelines and committing treasonable offences, said that Jones was accused of committing serious offence, was not a ground for the DSS to detain him beyond the time stipulated in the Constitution.

    Read Also: Ex-DSS boss still in custody

    He wondered why the DSS, who claimed to have obtained a voluntary confessionary statement from the applicant since August 16, 2016, did not charge Abiri with the offences of damaging oil pipelines before the Magistrate’s Court, but rather charged with a different offence.

    Justice Dimgba distinguished the case of Abiri from that of Asari Dokubo in which the Supreme Court held that national security precedes individual’s rights.

    The judge noted that the facts of the Abiri case is different from that of Dokubo in that while Dokubo was charged to court and the state objected to bail on the ground that national security was threatened, in this case, Abiri was never charged, but kept in solitary confinement.

    He said was possible that the respondent could have conveniently charged the applicant to court within the time provided in the Constitution.

    Justice Dimgba said from evidence before the court, it was obvious that the DSS violated the applicant’s right to liberty by detaining him for two years without charging him to court within the time allowed by law.

    He also declared as unlawful Abiri’s detention for two years.

    Abiri, described as the publisher of a Bayelsa State-based weekly paper, Weekly Source, was arrested by operatives of DSS on July 21, 2016 in Yenagoa the state capital) and brought to Abuja where he was detained until July this year without trial.

    The DSS had accused him of engaging in economic sabotage by destroying oil pipelines and running a militant organization called the Niger Delta Liberation Force.

    Upon his release, he filed the fundamental rights enforcement suit, challenging his detention and prayed for N200m damages.

  • Jones Abiri returns to Bayelsa, relieves ordeal

    ‘I was blindfolded, held in underground DSS cell’ says Abiri

     

    Jones Abiri, a journalist and publisher of a local tabloid in Bayelsa State, the Weekly Source, on Tuesday returned to Yenagoa, the state capital, and relieved his ordeal in the hands of the Department for State Security (DSS).

    Abiri, who was received at the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) by journalists and leadership of the Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO) said he was arrested in his office, detained for seven days in DSS cell in Yenagoa and later blindfolded and flown to Abuja.

    He said he was kept incommunicado in an underground DSS cell in Abuja and denied access to medical treatment for about two years.

    Abiri, who was also received by his wife and family members, said the hope that God would grant him freedom one day kept him alive throughout the period of his incarceration.

    He said: “Precisely l was arrested on July 21st, 2016 in my office at about 3:23pm. About 12 armed men came to my office and they came with a document, a search warrant that my office was under investigations.

    “When l perused the search warrant, l saw it was signed by one Magistrate Lucky. I allowed them and they searched my office. At the end of the search they found nothing. They handcuffed me, took my phones, laptops and other things. Things unconnected to my arrest were also taken. All my pay slips, banking information were taken.

    “They whisked me away to the state command. I gave my statement and after spending seven days in Yenagoa, they took me to Abuja. Initially, l didn’t know where l was going. My eyes were blindfolded. Since that time, l have not been giving the grace and the opportunity to see my wife, my children, sisters, brothers and friends.

    “My lawyers were denied access to me. I was in an underground cell, where when the light went off, you would not see the next person. I was also denied medicals. I thank God that the CLO and other rights organization took up the matter and today l am out of detention.

    “If not because of the voice of the media and the CLO, DSS wouldn’t have taken me to court. I was given one count charge that l sent threat messages to Agip Nigeria Limited and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) demanding money.

    “But l said l knew nothing about that because l had no connection with oil companies. But they insisted l was the one. But l kept on holding onto my creator. Now the matter is court”.

    Abiri assured the DSS and person who signed his bail bond that he would not jump bail expressing optimism that he would win the case.

    “They were thinking that l would jump bail. But l am ready and very resilient to face my trial. I am emphatic and believing God that l am going to win the case. I am not scared of them. Dr. Ambassador Godknows Igali and Fredrick Andy came to my rescue to sign the bail bonds without fear. They stuck their neck. So, l will not jump bail”, he said.

    He added that following his experience in detention, he had concluded plans to write a book to be entitled, My Prison Journey.

    He thanked the Press Unlimited, an organisation in Netherlands for donating €2000 amounting to about N450,000 which facilitated his freedom.

    He said though he knew nothing about the organisation, it came to his rescue through an environmental activist, Alagoa Morris and Peter Ikanga.

    Abiri disclosed that he had filed a suit to enforce his fundamental human rights at the Federal High Court, Abuja adding that the matter would come up for hearing on August 27th.

    “If l am a militant, Niger Delta will know that l am a militant. But l am not a militant. If I were a militant, l wouldn’t have owned an office to be doing my newspaper work. I should have been in the creek. I have already filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja to enforce my fundamental human rights”, he said.

    Read Also: The case for Jones Abiri

    Also speaking, the Bayelsa State Chairman, CLO, Chief Nengi James, thanked all the stakeholders, who contributed for the release of Abiri.

    He, however, asked security agencies especially the DSS to stop persecution of the Ijaw and Niger Delta people.

    James lamented that over 50 persons from the region were being held in detention without trial and called on the DSS to follow the process of law and grant them freedom.

    Also speaking, the Bayelsa Chairman, NUJ, Mr. John Angese, said Abiri is a bonafide journalist in the state saying his experience in DSS detention would make him stronger in his profession.

    Chairmen of the Bayelsa Federated Newspapers Publishers Association (BAFENPA) and Bayelsa Independent Publishers Association (BIPA) in their various remarks asked the DSS to respect the rule of law in its operations.

  • The case for Jones Abiri

    The arraignment of Jones Abiri, the publisher of Weekly Source magazine, last Thursday at the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Wuse Zone 2 in Abuja is a welcome relief after being kept incommunicado for almost two years without trial.

    But for the demand for the release of Abiri by the International Press Institute (IPI) during its recent global conference in Abuja and unrelenting follow up campaign by Committee for Protection of Journalists and other media groups, the publisher may have remained in detention for as long as the Directorate of State Security (DSS) that arrested him wants.

    When the issue was raised at the opening ceremony of the IPI conference, President Muhammadu Buhari promised to consider the request but the outcome was that the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, insisted that Abiri is not a journalist and he was being held for criminal charges bordering on oil sabotage and others.

    Government officials and surprisingly their co-sympathisers who are newspaper publishers who should know better have consistently maintained this same line of argument to justify Abiri’s continued detention without trial in violation of his fundamental rights.

    “As a true believer in the rule of law and the integral role of the media in a democracy, the presidency did interface with the security agency involved in the matter and our findings confirmed that the suspect is in custody because of alleged involvement in pipeline vandalism and theft.

    “Abiri is not a registered journalist with any of the media professional bodies in the country. Abiri’s stock-in-trade and notoriety in the liberalised Nigeria media industry include fronting as a spokesman for militants engaged in economic sabotage in the Niger Delta region,” Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, once stated.

    I have no problem if the government can prove that Abiri is not a journalist and he does not belong to any professional group when there are evidences to the contrary, but that is not a sufficient justification to detain any citizen without trial.

    No matter the offence committed by any citizen, he or she should be given fair trial in accordance with relevant laws and constitutional provisions. No agency of the government for whatever reason should have the right to do as it wishes and get the approval of those who should call it to order.

    It is the height of lawlessness that it took the N200million suit filed by Femi Falana Law Chambers against the (DSS) and the outcry of media stakeholders and human rights groups to force DSS to produce Abiri last Thursday

    As if to confirm that the DSS has no good case against Abiri, the agency failed to produce its witnesses and the matter had to be adjourned till August 16 with Abiri being ordered to be remanded in Keffi Prison based on the request by his lawyer that the terms of the bail granted him be less stringent.

    The federal government cannot continue to lay claim to be law-abiding when, like in this instance, the rights of a citizen were flagrantly violated.

    A Nigerian does not have to be a member of a professional group for his or her rights to be defended by others. Injustice to one is injustice to all.