On August 12, 2020, Mr Mustapha Yauri, a News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) correspondent, was arrested by policemen in Zaria, Kaduna State, while covering a protest by tanker drivers against alleged high-handedness of the Kaduna State Traffic and Environmental Law Enforcement Agency (KASTELEA).
Mustapha was arrested while taking photographs of the trailers used to block the Samaru/Kwangila flyover during the protest.
Narrating his ordeal after he was released later in the day, the reporter said he had interviewed witnesses of the protest and moved on to take pictures when a policeman in mufti attempted to seize his mobile phone which he resisted. He stated further that while introducing himself as a journalist, the police officer immediately seized his identity card and called some of his armed colleagues to take him to the station and detain him. In compliance, he said three armed police officers pulled him by his trousers and pushed him into their waiting truck.
Mustapha said he was detained at the Sabon-gari Police Station for hours before the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Abdullahi Ibrahim, called him into his office and interrogated him adding, the DPO later apologised to him for what happened and released him.
