MRA tells DSS to charge Tega Oghenedoro to court or free him
(Nigeria )
The Media Rights Agenda, MRA, has called on the Department of State Service, DSS,
and the Niger State Government to immediately charge Tega Oghenedoro, the
journalist arrested for allegedly demanding N50million bribe, to a court of
competent jurisdiction, if they have actionable evidence against him.
MR in a statement in Lagos ,
contended that Oghenedoro’s detention without charge is illegal and constitutes
a violation of his fundamental rights.
It called on the DSS and the Niger State Government to
release him forthwith if they have no evidence to charge him to court.
MRA’s Deputy Executive Director, Ms Jennifer Onyejekwe,
deplored the action of the DSS in parading him before the media, thereby
subjecting him to media trial, instead of taking him before a court of law.
She noted that any person accused of any offence was
presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction and
wondered why the security agency and the State government opted to parade him
before the media instead of charging him to court following their claim of
having mounted an elaborate sting operation to ensnare him which should have
given them sufficient evidence with which to try him, if their claims are true.
Oghenedoro, a staff of the Nigerian Television Authority,
NTA, in Asaba Delta State, allegedly using the pen-name of “Fejiro Oliver” was
initially declared missing on September 19, 2014 but paraded by the DSS before
the media in Minna on September 22 on an allegation that he demanded a bribe of
N50 million to suppress a story about Governor Muazu Aliyu of Niger State.
Governor Aliyu’s spokesperson, Israel Ebije accused
Oghenedoro of “using mushroom online platforms to blackmail innocent Nigerians,”adding
“That after it became clear that the journalist was out to blackmail officials
of the state government, he (Ebije) issued a statement warning him to refrain
from his actions or be exposed.
According to Ebije, “I even put out a caveat to him through
his so-called secret reporters warning him of the consequences of his actions,
but because he is greedy he still insisted.”
Ebije also release transcript of alleged text messages
exchanged between Oghenedoro and the Secretary to the State Government before
his departure from Asaba and upon arrival at the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International
Airport in Abuja after which he was arrested by the DSS.
Oghenedoro remains in detention without trial five days
after his arrest.
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