The State Security Agency has released Edna Uraet, a staff member of the Nigerian Order Paper newspaper, who was arrested on Friday.
Mr Ulayeto was released on Friday night following the intervention of the International Press Institute Nigeria National Committee (IPI Nigeria). Nigeria’s IPI Chairman, Mushikil Mojeed, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr. Uraet was detained earlier in the day after armed SSS agents raided his home.
According to a Friday statement in the order paper, SSS agents raided Uraet’s residence early Friday morning.
The newspaper staff were allegedly manhandled while wearing nightgowns and taken to an undisclosed location.
“The young woman, still wearing her regular nightgown, was violently handled and taken to an unknown destination, causing shock and fear for her family and neighbors,” the statement said. .
The order paper also claimed that Uraet’s cell phone was being tracked without legal permission. This is an investigative technique typically used only in criminal matters.
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The arrest appears to stem from a recent Order Paper article that falsely reported an SSS operation in the National Assembly aimed at thwarting an impeachment attempt against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Although the newspaper retracted the article and issued a public apology, undercover police officers reportedly entered Uraet’s home, searched her personal belongings, and caused severe distress to her and her family.
Neighbors who tried to intervene or document the incident were pushed around, and some were forced to delete photos and videos under threat of arrest, the statement said.
The organization also said that no formal notice or invitation was sent to Uraet or Order Paper before the raid, raising concerns about the legality of the operation.
“This brazen and horrific act has left all of Order Paper’s staff living in fear, unsure of what will happen next,” the statement continued.
The statement called on civil society organizations and the international community to demand her immediate release and condemn this attack on press freedom and fundamental human rights.
The SSS has not yet officially responded to the arrest. For months, the agency has refused to appoint a spokesperson to respond to inquiries.
Concerns about press freedom
Mr Uraet’s arrest is the latest in a series of troubling incidents targeting journalists in Nigeria.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Press Attack Tracker tracked more than 100 incidents of violence and intimidation against journalists in 2024.
Federal security agencies, including the police and the SSS, are responsible for the majority of these attacks.
In one such incident, First News editor Segun Olatunji was arrested in March by men in military uniform who broke into his home.
His family was not informed of his whereabouts and he was detained for nearly two weeks. Similarly, Daniel Ojukwu of the Investigative Journalism Foundation was detained without access to his family or lawyer, and was then flown to Abuja where he was held for nine days before being released.
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Other journalists have also faced harassment, detention, and intimidation for their work. In one incident, reporters Nurudeen Akewushola and Dayo Ayetan of the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) were detained for several hours at the Nigeria Police National Cybercrime Center over an article they published.
Advocacy groups have expressed concern that press freedom is undergoing a major setback in Nigeria as cases of media intimidation increase. Despite constitutional protections, journalists are increasingly targeted for their work, with state actors using arbitrary detention and harassment as tools of repression.
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