Officers of the Imo State Police command have invaded the office of Nigeria Watchdog Newspaper, a state-based tabloid and arrested the Deputy Editor of the media outlet, Martine Opara and some of its reporters.
The reason for the raid according to the publisher and editor-in-chief of the media house, Precious Nwadike remains unknown.
The spokesperson of the State Police Command, Henry Okoye, who earlier claimed that the command is yet to receive an official report concerning the invasion, later said that the Anti-Narcotics Unit of the state have confirmed that the staff of the newspaper outfit were under their custody.
The command’s public relations officer, however, did not disclose to Journalists the reason behind the arrest but confirmed that the arrested persons had been released.
Following the development, Journalists have condemned the action of the police describing it as an attempt to muzzle down media practice in the state.
Austin Agunonu, an Owerri-based Journalist, said the action of the police is very uncivil and discouraging, owing to the fact that journalists in the state have been at the forefront in assisting the police to fight against insecurity.
He wondered why the police in the state recently formed the habit of invading people’s homes and offices to arrest them without officially invitation.