Under mounting pressure, military authorities relented and released Segun Olatunji, the Editor of FirstNews, who was abducted from his Lagos home on March 15, 2024.
YEPS can confirm that Olatunji was handed over to select media figures, including Yomi Odunuga from The Nation newspaper and Iyobosa Uwugiaren from Thisday Newspaper, in Abuja on Thursday, following sustained pressure from the media.
They were required to ensure Olatunji’s availability if needed in the future.
Various organizations, including the International Press Institute and the Nigeria Guild of Editors, as well as Olatunji’s employers, had issued statements condemning his abduction and demanding his release or lawful charges against him.
Olatunji, formerly The PUNCH’s correspondent in Kaduna State, was taken from his residence in Lagos’ Iyana Odo, Abule Egba area, by men dressed in military attire.
The International Press Institute revealed on Wednesday that Olatunji was in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), a body overseen by Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye, who answers to the Chief of Defence Staff.
According to YEPS, media stakeholders will address journalists in Abuja at 11 a.m. to discuss the latest developments.
