A Non-Governmental organisation based in Lagos, International Press Center, has demanded the immediate release of Kufre Carter, a sports presenter with XL 106.9 FM in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
POLITICS NIGERIA reported how Mr Carter was arrested by operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) last week.
Inibehe Effiong, a human rights activist and Mr Carter’s lawyer, had accused the DSS of unprofessional conduct and illegal detention of his client.
In a statement sent to this paper on Monday, the lawyer decried the inhumane condition the journalist has been subjected to.
He was being detained by over a leaked telephone conversation he had with a medical doctor on the method deployed by the Akwa Ibom state government in handling the spread of dreaded Covid-19 pandemic in the state.
Lanre Arogundade, Director, IPC, in a Statement sent to our reporter, said Mr the detention is a gross violation of Mr Carter’s rights, the Nigerian laws and all democratic tenets.
“The recurring developments underscore the remarkable fact that even after twenty years of ceaseless democracy, the government can still create subtle censorships to muzzle journalists and other independent voices at the faintest criticism” Mr Arogundade lamented.
IPC calls for the unconditional release of the detained journalist and ‘an end to all forms of impunity against the media.’
This latest development is part of the growing cases of human rights violations during the coronavirus lockdown.
