Nicholas Kalu, the Cross River State correspondent of The Nation Newspapers, and some persons suspected to be members of African Action Congress, AAC, have been arrested by the police.
The journalist and the others were arrested on Monday, August 5, 2019, at the venue of the RevolutionNow protest in the cultural centre in Calabar, the Cross River state capital.
News reports say that aside the journalist, reporters with an online medium, “CrossRiverWatch” suspected to be members of AAC, Jonathan Ugbal and Jeremiah Archibong, were also arrested.
The reason for the arrest of the journalist was not immediately known as it was learnt that he was at the venue to cover the protest.
When members of the Correspondents’ Chapel made a phone call to the arrested journalist, his phone line was not going through.
Irene Ugbo, the police public relations officer in Cross River, has said she was not aware of the arrest of the journalist but assured that he will be released if he was actually arrested.
“I don’t know the situation, I am not in the office, but if at all he was arrested, he will be released, ” she said.
Reacting, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Cross River State Council, Comrade Victor Udu regretted the action of the security personnel, stating that the journalist was there to cover the protest not as member of AAC.
“I condemn the act totally, the Journalist is just doing his job, he did not go there with any weapon, he went there with his jotter and pen” he said and called for his immediate and unconditional release.
Meanwhile, there was tension in the State as Police and other security agencies embarked on show of force movement in a long convey with security personnel and armoured tank patrolling the streets.
