By Amos Okioma
Pen Pushers Association in Bayelsa State has confirmed that the detained Jones Abiri is its member and a journalist.
It also urged the Federal Government to sue Abari if he had contravened any of Nigeria’s laws.
The group was reacting to a statement by Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, that the detained Jones Abiri who is being incarcerated by DSS for over two years now is not a journalist and does not belong to any chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ ).
In a statement by its president, Richard Ogbage in Yenagoa, the group insisted that Abiri was the publisher of a Corporate Affairs Commission certified newspaper, known as Weekly Source, based in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State widely circulated in the South – South region of Nigeria.
The group also averred that Abiri was a registered member of Bayelsa State Independent Publishers Association (BIPA ), while stressing that Abiri is protected under section 22, section 39 sub – section 1- 3 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended and therefore he cannot be denied access by his family members, colleagues and his lawyers.
It would be recalled that Shehu said that Abiri was arrested for pip line vandalism and crude oil theft, including militant activities in the Niger Delta region.
The presidential spokesman stated this while reacting to a statement at the World Congress of International Press Institute in Abuja that a journalist, Jones Abiri, was arrested in the course of his duties.
The group further stated: “On the issue of the arrest and continued detention of Jones Abiri, who allegedly parades as a journalist, by the Department of State Services (DSS), it is instructive to note that the accused is a guest of the security agency because of his alleged involvement in militant and criminal activities.
“Admittedly, the issue of Jones Abiri had been brought to the attention of the presidency by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and as a true believer in the rule of law and the integral role of the media in democracy, the Presidency did interface with the security agency involved in the matter and our findings confirmed that the suspect is in the custody because of alleged involvement in pipeline vandalism and theft.”
The presidency had also declared that Abiri was not a registered journalist with any of the media professional bodies in the country and there was no evidence to show that Jones Abiri belonged to any chapel or membership of the Nigerian Union of Journalists or payment of the union’s check – off dues.
