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IPC kicks as police detain, arraign Wikki Times publisher, reporter

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Haruna Muhammad

<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>PUBLISHER of online newspaper&comma; Wikki Times&comma; Haruna Mohammed&comma; was detained after honouring an invitation by officials of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department &lpar;SCIID&rpar; of the Bauchi State Police Command on Monday&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"F2Cdk0ny" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>He was detained alongside a reporter&comma; Idris Kamal&comma; over a report on the death of a politician in Bauchi State&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"xL1HMob9" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>The ICIR gathered that after writing their statements at the SCIID&comma; Mohammed was placed in a cell along with Kamal&period; It was learnt that the journalists were brutalised by other inmates in the cell&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Despite the presence of their lawyers&comma; Mohammed and Kamal were detained for at least 10 hours before they were released&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Investigating Police Officer &lpar;IPO&rpar; in charge of the case&comma; Bilyaminu&comma; however&comma; told The ICIR that Mohammed is being investigated for publishing defamatory report concerning a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress &lpar;APC&rpar; in Bauchi&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The IPO denied reports that the journalists were beaten up in detention&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"IvlaLKXk" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;nigeriantracker&period;com&sol;2022&sol;06&sol;28&sol;nigeria-and-the-opprobrium-over-the-origin-or-the-originals&sol;">Nigeria And The Opprobrium Over The Origin Or The Originals<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Yes we are investigating the issue&period; They published something defamatory about the late APC chieftain here in Bauchi&period; They came in today&comma; we are still trying to investigate the matter&comma; I don’t know what you mean by rough-handled&comma;” he said on Monday&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The ICIR also reached out to Ahmed Wakil&comma; spokesman of the Bauchi State Police Command&comma; on Monday&period; He promised to look into the matter and effect the immediate release of the journalists&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I am presently not in the office&comma; but I am heading back now&period; If this is true I will do everything possible to see that he is released&period; I will take up the matter&comma;” he said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Wakil reached out to The ICIR about an hour later saying that Mohammed would be released in a matter of minutes and the journalists regained freedom shortly after&period; They were&comma; however&comma; asked to return on Tuesday for further interrogation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Following their return on Tuesday&comma; June 28&comma; the journalists were arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Bauchi where they were charged with criminal conspiracy&comma; defamation of character and cyber stalking&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The court remanded them in custody till Wednesday&comma; June 29&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The case is connected to a report published by Wikki Times on the sudden death of the APC chairman in the Bauchi Local Government Area of the state on May 18&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to the report&comma; the late APC Chairman&comma; Hussaini Musa Gwaba&comma; received series of threats before his death&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Wikki Times reported that Gwaba was considered as a threat by an APC member of the House of Representatives&comma; Yakubu Shehu Abdullahi&comma; representing Bauchi Federal Constituency&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Abdullahi eventually filed a petition which led to the arrest and detention of the journalists&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Meanwhile&comma; the International Press Centre &lpar;IPC&rpar; condemned the harassment and detention of the journalists in a statement released on Tuesday&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The IPC expressed concern over the incident and urged the police to desist from being used as objects of oppression&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Since the petitioner alleged defamation&comma; the Police should have in the first instance advised him to seek legal redress instead of illegally detaining the journalists for 10 hours on Monday&comma; June 27&comma; 2022 and subjecting them to physical and mental harassment in the process”&comma; IPC Executive Director&comma; Lanre Arogundade&comma; said in the statement&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He urged the police to ensure the safety of the journalists&comma; adding that the rule of law regarding petitions should also apply with media professionals as with other citizens&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 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