The 7 Division, Nigerian Army, late Thursday night released the reporter of Daily Trust, Mr. Olatunji Omirin, earlier arrested by armed soldiers at the Borno state Secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Three soldiers – two in mufti and one in the Nigerian Army uniform armed with gun – had arrested and handcuffed Omirin around 4:40pm.
They went to the Daily Trust Regional Office along Baga Road, twice before storming the NUJ Secretariat to arrest the journalist.
It will be recalled that Daily Trust’s regional editor, Uthman Abubakar and a reporter, Ibrahim Sawab were on Sunday, January 6, 2019 whisked away by a combined team of soldiers, DSS and Civil Defence officers.
Their arrest and detention was not unconnected with the lead story of Daily Trust of same day on military operation in the North East.
Daily Trust also learnt that the military shut the gate of the Maiduguri regional office, after arresting the two editorial staff on sight at the time of the raid.
Following the shutting down of Maiduguri office of Daily Trust that day, armed soldiers in several vehicles laid siege to Daily Trust headquarters in Abuja and Bureau offices in Lagos and Kano states respectively.
