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Newspaper Editor
alleges threat by Police
The management of a Lagos-based daily ‘The Nation’ newspapers in Lagos
on February 21, 2008 alleged that its editor, Mr. Gbenga Omotosho was
being harassed by policemen whom the legal adviser of the media house,
Ms. Folake Adeoye said came from Ekiti State in South-west Nigeria.
Adeoye said in a statement that: “Three policemen, led by Chief
Superintendent of Police, Obiozo Uche, were in our office at Fatai Atere
Way, Matori, Lagos yesterday [20 February 2008] at about 1.20pm.”
The statement said the policemen initially posed as advertisers at the
security post but when they got to the reception demanded to see the
editor, Mr. Omotosho. The receptionist called Mr. Omotosho’s personal
assistant who, when he came asked for their mission. They refused to
disclose it in public and so he took them to the editor’s office where
they then disclosed their identity and mission. While they were still
discussing, Mr. Omotosho walked in.
Adeoye said further that “The policemen told him [Omotosho] that they
had instruction from the Commissioner of Police in Ekiti State to arrest
Mr. Omotosho and bring him to Ado-Ekiti.
“According to Mr. Uche, it was in respect of a complaint made by Chief
Afe Babalola [a lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN] that he had
been libeled in an advertorial published in ‘The Nation’ last year.”
Omtosho was reported to have enlightened the policemen on the process of
placing adverts in newspapers adding that an editor may not necessarily
see an advert and that he did not see the advertorial in question.
The newspaper management said it was constrained to go public because of
its belief that there was more to the matter, besides its being an
advertorial and a story about a tribunal sitting.
The policemen left the newspaper office at about 2.30pm local time.
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