Men from the Abia State Police Command stormed ABN TV in Umuahia, the state capital, on Tuesday, and forcibly arrested a guest, Mr. Udensi Donald, during a live broadcast.
Donald was a guest on “Youth Rendezvous”, hosted by Grace Onyekachi at the time of his arrest.
Commenting on the incident, the Director of ABN TV/Radio, Ifeanyi Okali, said the invasion was a provocation against human rights and press freedom.
He stated, “We are worried about the invasion of our broadcast station in Umuahia by officers from the Nigerian Police, Umuahia Area Command in Abia State.”
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“At approximately 2:40pm on Tuesday, January 16, 2023, the policemen raided our station during a live program to arrest our guest, one Mr. Udensi Donald during a program, Youth Rendezvous.”
He added that the police said the arrest was a result of the guest’s older brother, Mr. Uche Onwuka Udensi, who had lodged a petition against him over a family dispute.
“Despite our staff’s repeated requests to the authorities to allow the broadcast to stop before the guest was detained, they insisted on taking him away while the live program was still running.
“We find this very inflammatory and an act of overzealousness by the police officers, who violated the rules of engagement.
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