The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Ogun state council, has appealed to the Federal High Court, Ikoyi Lagos, to grant its member Seun Odunlami and three others bail.
The council stated that the allegations levelled against the journalists are bailable.
Newspot reports that Seun Odunlami, Precious Eze, Olawale Rotimi, and Rowland Olonishuwa were arrested in a gestapo manner, in connection with an alleged investigative report involving a bank and its Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje.
The defendants were initially arraigned on September 27, 2024, before the court on two counts of cyberstalking and false publications and spreading false information and have been remanded at the Ikoyi correctional center for more than a month, without bail.
The journalists are now facing an amended 10 counts charge bordering on conspiracy, cyberstalking, false and misleading publication, extortion, threat, and loss of shares and market value, among others.
Addressing members of the council on Monday at its secretariat in Iwe iroyin, Abeokuta, the Chairman, Comrade Wale Olarenwaju noted that the offense with which Odunlami and others was accused of is a bailable offense, and being in detention for over seven weeks is against their fundamental human rights.
Olarenwaju called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to further tinker with the Cybercrime Act, 2024, as amended, saying that the law has been used to cow the media with frivolous charges in courts.
He said, “We must recognize that the use of police forces to enforce such actions is not just an infringement of rights, but a grave infraction on the principles of justice and democracy.
“It is important to stress that this individual is facing charges that are bailable, yet they remain trapped in a web of unlawful custody that violates their rights and undermines our justice system.”
Share your story or advertise with us: Whatsapp: +2347068606071 Email: info@newspotng.com
