Five days after veteran journalist Segun Olatunji was abducted by yet-to-be-identified gunmen, his whereabouts have remained unknown, said family members and colleagues.
Olatunji, a former Kaduna bureau chief of The PUNCH and current editor of FirstNews, an online news platform, was reportedly picked from his house in Iyana Odo, Abule Egba area of Lagos state by gunmen.
His wife, Abiodun Olatunji said about ten armed men stormed the residence a few minutes after 6 pm on Friday, March 15.
“They refused to state his offence and where they were taking him to despite all the efforts to make them do so,” she said.
The management of FirstNews linked the incident to a recent story published by the platform titled, “Revealed: Defence Chief Running Office Like Family Business – Public Interest Lawyers”.
FirstNews also suggested that the abduction may be related to another report titled, “EXCLUSIVE: How contractor company stole N100bn, laundered funds for top govt officials – Investigation”, which was later pulled down.
Since the abduction, there has been no trace of Olatunji. His phone line has been switched off. No one has reached the family or the management of FirstNews to explain why he was abducted.
Meanwhile, the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force have commenced an investigation to unravel the whereabouts of Olatunji. Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this on Tuesday 19 March 2024 in Abuja while responding to an inquiry on what the police were doing to secure the release of the journalist.
Adejobi said they would reach out to the military to first ascertain if he was in their custody since there were wide speculations in the media suggesting that he was arrested by the army.
He assured that the Police would not relent in getting to the root of the matter and also ensure that Olatunji is freed and reunited with his family.
Reacting to the development, the Publisher of FirstNews, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said it was highly commendable, noting that at long last “we are beginning to see some action being taken to unravel the whereabouts of Segun Olatunji five days after he was forcefully taken away from his home.”
On Monday, Olatunji’s family wrote a Save Our Soul (SOS) letter to President Bola Tinubu, requesting him to “order the military to immediately release him”.
On Tuesday, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) also called for the immediate release of the editor. The assistant national secretary of the NUJ, Akorede Rauph Opeyemi, in a statement, described Olatunji’s abduction as another threat to freedom of the press. He said actions like that were clearly unacceptable and were attempts to intimidate journalists and force them into self-censorship.
He called for Olatunji to be released immediately and unconditionally in the interest of democracy, good governance, and the rule of law.
“Olatunji should be released immediately and unconditionally in the interest of democracy, good governance, and the rule of law,” he said.
