By EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL REPORT!!! 3 Main Reasons Why IGP Arrested UK Based Journalist Daniel Elombah & 6 Others
By, Uchechukwu Ugboaja
It is no longer news that the new media and the free press is currently under attack in Nigeria today as characterized by the sadistic and brazen arrest of Elombah.com Publisher Mr. Daniel Elombah, Timothy Elombah and other journalists who work at Elombah.com New Year day.
Although preliminary reports have it that Mr. Daniel and his brothers were being held at the SARS HQ. in Abuja on the orders of the Inspector General Ppolice, Ibrahim Idris over yet to be known charges.
Even though the University of Nigeria Nnsukka trained lawyer and his brothers are being arrested by SARS an anti-robbery unit of the Nigeria Police remains unknown as at the time of filling this report, what we can reliably confirm is that Mr. Daniel Elombah had played no active part in the recent “End SARS Now” campaign held in several parts of the country by concerned Nigerians.
If there is any record of Elombah’s role in the “EndSARSNow” Campaign is that it had in fact published a special report on the “Support SARS” Campaign on December 12th 2017. This has left media watchers and observers wondering why the UK based human rights lawyer and journalist was arrested by the operatives.
However, following this sad development revelations are emanating as to the reasons that may alluded by state authorities for Elombah.com crew’s illegal arrest and planned detention by the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) just as it has been established that their arrest had nothing to do with robbery.
One of the main reasons media observers believe Daniel Elombah was arrested could be linked to his role in the “Return Or Resign” campaign on August 18, 2017 which was led by Nigerians in diaspora particularly those resident in the United Kingdom when President Muhamadu Buhari spent over 100 days in the Abuja House London.
Mr. Daniel Elombah was one of those at the fore front of this campaign as a responsible citizen of Nigeria who would always demand for better governance for Nigerians irrespective of ‘whose Ox is gored’. Elombah.com never backed down on this campaign for Mr. President to return home especially as his protracted stay in London had negative implications for Nigeria’s tourism industry, health industry, economy and security as the rampaging herdsmen continued their onslaught on farmers in different part of the country while the President was away.
It would be recalled that Charly Boy (Oputa) and Deji Adeyanju had championed the “Return or Resign” campaign back home in Nigeria where they were almost lynched to death by opposing protesters at Wuse Market but thankfully the “Return or Resign” campaigners in the UK had just one vigil protest before President Buhari returned home to the relief of most Nigerians.
Another reason why Daniel Elombah was viciously arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police could be due to an exclusive report about the IGP impregnating a serving police officer and subsequently promoting her.
This revelation was made public by a serving Senator Isa Misau, who happens to be a former police officer from Bauchi state. He claimed that the IGP had secretly married the said lady. This report was published by various online media outfits but Elombah.com had published an exclusive report on it on the 23rd of September 2017 which eventually led to the IGP appearing before a Senate Special Committee to investigate the matter. Sources claimed that the matter had made the IGP very furious as he vowed to deal with anyone involved in escalating the scandal.
In addition, Elombah.com may have also attracted the wrath of state authorities over its persistent advocacy and campaign for “Restructuring” of Nigeria.
The position of the President on the issue of “Restructuring” is well known and was just about to be reiterated in his traditional New Year message to the nation on the 1st day of the year while Mr. Daniel Elombah’s home was being raided by SARS.
Daniel Elombah is known to be one of the active proponents of a restructured Nigeria and his platform had given air to several voices and calls for restructuring. He is also a prominent member of the South-East South-South Network (SESSNet) which had given the Federal Government no later than December 2017 to restructure the country or risk intense global agitation for self-determination in the respective region.
The group had held several conferences within and outside the country where they had called for the establishment of a committee by the Federal Government that would determine which areas of the country that needed to be restructured with immediate effect.
Several analysts and journalists who have reacted to this issue have claimed that the coincidence over the timing of the arrest of Daniel Elombah, Timothy Elombah and others could easily leave many Nigerians in doubt over the IGP’s commitment to reform SARS in particular and the Nigeria Police in general in spite of the many documented cases of human rights violation which do not exclude extra judicial executions, a lot of which are well documented by local and international human rights watch groups.
