Oloye Ayodele Samuel, the publisher of Taraba Truth and Facts newspaper and CEO of Rock FM 92.3 in Jalingo, Taraba State, has been remanded in the custody of the Taraba State Police Command in Jalingo despite meeting bail conditions.
This was after Ayodele pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him at a Magistrate Court in Taraba on Tuesday.
In a statement to FIJ, Lance Momodu, a staffer from Truth and Facts, said the conditions for Ayodele’s release were N10 million naira and two Jalingo resident sureties with landed properties worth five million naira each, which he met instantly.
“The bail conditions were met. It is quite unclear how the publisher has been remanded, but what is certain is the treacherous abuse of power by the state government,” Momodu said.
“It is a beyond shameful situation and we hope that the government have a quick change of heart and obey the court verdict.”
“It is an absolute disappointment that a government seeks to cripple press freedom or, at the very least, freedom of expression in this modern time.”
Ayodele was arraigned in court on Tuesday, hours after he released a statement saying he was to be arrested by some agents of the Taraba State Government over a publication.
Speaking to FIJ earlier, Ayodele said “the Taraba State Government is angry with some of our reports,” specifically the report where the newspaper stated that Governor Darius Ishaku had “plans to sell the Taraba liaison office”.
He also said that he was arrested by the police for “inciting the public against the governor and defamation of character”.
“Last Wednesday, we took up the plight of teachers who were owed 14 months salaries on a programme I anchored. I was told it infuriated the governor, and they started looking for our past reports in the newspaper, Taraba Truth and Facts,” he said.
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