Madu Onuorah, the publisher and editor-in-chief of Globalupfront Newspapers, who was abducted by policemen from his residence in Lugbe, Abuja, has been released. His release was announced by the management of Globalupfront Newspapers in a statement on Friday.
The management confirmed that Onuorah was released on bail by the Enugu State Police Command on Thursday night. The statement read:
"We have confirmed the release (on bail) of our Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Madu Onuorah, who was abducted by men of the Ebonyi Police Command on Wednesday, 22/5/2024, evening from his residence in Lugbe, Abuja. He was released late Thursday, 23/5/2024, night by Enugu State Police Command who requested the Ebonyi Police to abduct him for them. We are awaiting a full briefing by Mr. Onuorah and our lawyers before issuing a full statement on this matter and the next line of action.
"We solidly stand by our Editor-in-Chief and the harmless story we published. We insist the police station is not a court of law where alleged defamation cases are tried. We want to thank the Journalism and Media family, friends and well-wishers, and all defenders of freedom of expression who rose against a budding tyranny."
On Wednesday, Onuorah was taken by security operatives at around 6 p.m. in the presence of his wife and children. According to the management, about 10 fully-armed policemen stormed his residence in Lugbe, Abuja, in two Sienna buses and took him away without presenting a warrant of arrest, leaving him incommunicado with his family members, lawyer, and workplace.
This incident occurred just 21 days after a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Daniel Ojukwu, was abducted by the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector General of Police. Ojukwu was initially held at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, Lagos State, before being transferred to the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre in Abuja.
