I Was Blindfolded in DSS Custody, Says Abiri
HRW accuses FG of torturing journalists
A Bayelsa State-based journalist, who was recently released by the Department of State Service (DSS) after two years in detention, Mr. Jones Abiri, yesterday alleged that he was blindfolded while in the custody of the secret police and denied participating in militant activities in the Niger Delta area.
This is coming as the Human Rights Watch (HRW) yesterday accused the federal government of harassing and torturing journalists, saying the several detentions of members of the press and activists suggest a disturbing trend towards repression of freedom of expression.
Abiri, who is the publisher of ‘Weekly Source’, a local newspaper in the state, recounted his ordeals in the custody of DSS where he was held without being charged to court.
He alleged that he was also blindfolded by the secret police.
The journalist was finally brought before an Abuja court by the DSS following local and international pressure mounted by the media and civil society organisations.
“If l were a militant, Niger Delta will know that l am a militant. But l am not a militant. If I were a militant, l wouldn’t have owned an office for my newspaper work. I should have been in the creek. I have already filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to enforce my fundamental human rights,” he said.
Recalling the ill-treatment meted on him by the DSS, Abiri, who was received at the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) by journalists and leadership of the Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO), said he was flown to Abuja with his face covered after spending seven days in detention in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
He said he was kept incommunicado in an underground DSS cell in Abuja and denied access to medical treatment for about two years.
“I was arrested on July 21, 2016, in my office at about 3:23 p.m. About 12 armed men came to my office and they came with a document-a search warrant that my office was under investigations.
“When l perused the search warrant, l saw that it was signed by one Magistrate Lucky. I allowed them and they searched my office. At the end of the search, they found nothing. They handcuffed me, took my phones, laptops and other things. Things unconnected to my arrest were also taken. All my pay slips and other bank information were taken.
“They whisked me away to the state command. I gave my statement and after spending seven days in Yenagoa, they took me to Abuja. Initially, l didn’t know where l was going. My eyes were blindfolded. Since that time, l was not given the grace and opportunity to see my wife, my children, sisters, brothers and friends.
“My lawyers were denied access to me. I was in an underground cell, where, when the light went off, you would not see the next person. I was also denied medical care. I thank God that the CLO and other rights organisation took up the matter, and today, l am out of detention.
“If not because of the voice of the media and the CLO, DSS wouldn’t have taken me to court. I was given one-count charge that l sent threat messages to Agip Nigeria Limited and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) demanding money.
“But l said l knew nothing about that because l had no connection with oil companies. But they insisted l was the one. But l kept holding onto my creator. Now the matter is in court,” he explained.
Abiri expressed gratitude to the media, human rights activists; Press Unlimited, an organisation in The Netherlands; environmental activists, Alagoa Morris and Peter Ikanga, for working for his freedom.
In his comments, Bayelsa State Chairman, CLO, Chief Nengi James, thanked all the stakeholders, who contributed to the release of Abiri.
He, however, asked security agencies especially the DSS to stop persecution of the Ijaw and Niger Delta people.
James lamented that over 50 persons from the region were being held in detention without trial and called on the DSS to follow the due process of law and grant them freedom.
Meanwhile, the HRW yesterday accused the Nigerian government of harassing and torturing journalists, saying the several detentions of members of the press and activists suggest a disturbing trend towards repression of freedom of expression.
The HRW Nigeria Researcher, HRW, Aniete Ewang, said in statement that in one case, a journalist was held incommunicado for nearly two years, and in another, an activist was said to have been tortured.