Jalingo was arrested for alleged defamation of character of the wife of Frank Ayade, the brother of the Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade.’
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Rule of Law, Accountability and Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has faulted the police for arresting Citizen Agba Jalingo at the behest of Frank Ayade, younger brother of Cross River State governor, Ben Ayade.
A statement by RULAAC’s Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said arresting Agba Jalingo on allegation of defamation against Frank Ayade’s wife, portrays the police as an organisation open for hire.
Jalingo is the publisher of Cross River Watch, an online newspaper that focuses its reporting on activities of the state government and its officials.
Agba Jalingo was in 2019, arrested and charged to court by the police at the prompting of the Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade over alleged defamation. He was discharged and acquitted.
RULAAC press statement is published below
The news of the police siege on the Lagos home of publisher Agba Jalingo Friday, August 19, 2022 during which his wife and daughter were reportedly taken hostage came to RULAAC with utter shock.
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Simultaneously, his office in Calabar, Cross River State was also besieged and his staff held hostage by unknown persons.
While those who besieged his office in Calabar took flight upon sighting police and the state security services (SSS) operatives who arrived upon being alerted by Agba Jalingo’s staff, he was eventually arrested by police officers in Lagos after he demanded and was informed that he was being arrested for alleged defamation of character of the wife of Frank Ayade, the brother of the Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade.’
Who knows the motive of those who besieged his office in Calabar since they didn’t appear to be police officers and took flight upon sighting security agents?
RULAAC has spoken with sources close to Agba Jalingo who revealed that Agba Jalingo was never invited by the police to report to the police before they besieged his house in such gestapo fashion.
Sometime in August 2019, Agba was seized by Intelligence Response Team (IRT) operatives in his Lagos home and put in the booth of their vehicle and driven for 25 hours to Calabar where he was detained for several weeks before being charged to court and remanded in prison for treason because he wrote a critical piece exposing alleged corruption by the Cross River State governor, Ben Ayade. He was cleared several months later of all the charges by the High Court.
Nearly 3 years later, Agba is being arrested again, this time, at the behest of Governor Ben Ayade’s brother, Frank Ayade.
The allegation of defamation should not warrant such high-handed, expeditionary and dramatic police action. The courts are there to adjudicate and determine whether an act is defamatory or otherwise.
Police should avoid portraying themselves as available for hire by politicians or other persons of influence to be used to settle scores. It is not helping the battered image of the police .
RULAAC calls for the immediate release of Agba Jalingo and apologise to him, his family and staff members for violently violating their rights to liberty, freedom of movement and dignity which are guaranteed as inviolable under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Nigeria Police must at all times be guided in their actions by law, integrity and civility.