After 14 days in detention, First News editor, Segun Olatunji, breathes air of freedom

The Editor of FirstNews, a digital newspaper, Segun Olatunji, on Thursday regained his freedom after spending 14 days in military detention.

Persecondnews reported that Olatunji was “abducted” from his Iyana Odo, Abule Egba home in Lagos on Friday, March 15, 2024.

No fewer than 10 armed men with two of them in military uniform were said to have taken Olatunji from his home in the presence of his family.

He was taken into custody by the Defence Intelligence Agency, according to many checks conducted by his family, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, and the Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI Nigeria).

Several petitions and calls were made to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use his authority as the commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and prevail on Gen. Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, to produce Olatunji.

Olatunji’s “abduction” was condemned by the Nigeria Union of Journalists and the Nigerian Guild of Editors which described it as a threat to press freedom.

“The disappearance of Segun Olatunji, the editor of First News newspapers, is another sad reminder of the danger being faced by journalists on a daily basis,” statement by Akorede Opeyemi, the Assistant National Secretary of the NUJ said.