Mr. Adebowale Adekoya, webmaster for NewsDigest, was on October 25, 2019 arrested in Ikorodu, Lagos State by operatives of the Kwara State Police Command, without any warrant of arrest, for alleged defamation. The alleged defamatory story, published by NewsDigest in May, 2018, was not written by him but by a reporter with NewsDigest.
Adebowale was initially taken to Pakodo Police Station in Ikorodu after which he was driven to Ilorin, Kwara State. He was again driven to Abuja on October 28 where he was detained overnight.
On October 29, he was forced to take the policemen to the office of NewsDigest and to identify the editor, Gidado Yushau, whom they arrested and together with Adebowale, they drove to Ilorin where they were detained and questioned by the police. They were released on October 31 on police bail.
The said report titled, ‘Inside Kwara factory where Indian hemp smoking is legalised’, the story reports that workers are allowed to smoke cigarette and Indian hemp at Hillcrest Agro-Allied Industry without warning or penalty. The industry is owned by Mrs. Sarah Alade, a former acting governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.
NewsDigest is an online newspaper with offices in Abuja.
