A lawyer, Festus Ogun, has alleged that the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested his client and blogger, Olamilekan Hammed aka Labash on the instigation of the Ogun State Government.
The secret police had reportedly picked up Labash after he wrote an article on the alleged criminal past of Governor Dapo Abiodun in the United States.
Governor Abiodun, who is seeking re-election in 2023, however dismissed the claims in the report, stating that they were not enough grounds for his disqualification from the gubernatorial race.
Ogun said that the state government must prevail on the DSS to release his client, saying he was being held in contravention of the law.
“We can authoritatively confirm that Prince Olamilekan Hammed (Labash), the courageous blogger arrested for exposing the dirty criminal records of Governor Abiodun in the US has been transferred to the Ogun State Police Command by the State Security Service.
“I met with him in high spirit yesterday and he further confirmed that the sole reason for his arrest was about the reports he made in respect of the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun. He was forced to delete the publication and five days after his irrational arrest, he is still being kept in grave contravention of the law.
“Sections 34, 35, and 39 of the 1999 Constitution are clear that journalism is not a crime that could warrant an arrest and that the continuous detention of Hammed beyond 24 hours is a naked violation of his sacred fundamental rights.
“Dapo Abiodun, who instigated the malicious arrest, is solely responsible for the detention, brutal torture, and intimidation of Mr. Hammed. Deploying the instruments of the state to oppress a citizen-journalist merely doing his job is fascism taken too far. He should approach a civil court if he feels defamed.
“We call on the Commissioner of Police in Ogun State and the SSS to immediately release Mr. Hammed or charge him to court, should they have any case against him. We equally call on all activists, civil society organisations, the press, and all patriots to join us in our struggle for the freedom of blogger Labash,” Ogun said.
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