Police Arrest, Fly Journalist From Akwa Ibom To Abuja Over Facebook Post (Read)

Mr. Jerry Edoho, a young journalist , who is the Deputy Editor of Ibom Nation Newspaper, a local publication , was arrested by plain clothed police men and forcibly taken to the Federal Capital over a post he allegedly put up on his Facebook page involving Dana Air.

He had written , “Rumor via social media ( Facebook ) has it that Dana Air enroute Abj -Lag with 153 passengers crashed killing all on board . Please could someone help verify the authenticity of this shocking report ? Below is ( the ) pix from the scene as uploaded on my wall .”

But following a petition by Dana Air to the police authorities in Abuja after the said photograph became a hot topic of discussion among a section of Facebook users ; Edoho was arrested in Uyo on Friday and taken to the FCT on a Dana flight scheduled to leave by 4 pm.

Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong who met the journalist at the airport confirmed the incident to Saturday PUNCH around 8 pm on Friday shortly before leaving Uyo for Lagos.

“The security men confronted me for speaking with him ‘without their permission.' I retorted that Mr . Edoho is a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that his right to freedom of expression cannot be taken away . This resulted in an altercation between me and the security men" Inibehe Effiong said.