Nigerian newspaper editor released from prison
Nigerian journalist Oga Tom Uhia has been released from custody after a month, the RSF reported on Tuesday citing his daughter.
The 72-year-old editor of Power Steering magazine was arrested on October 13 from his residence in Gwarimpa, Abuja, following a libel complaint filed against him by power minister Jeddy Agba, CPJ reported.
He was charged with 14 counts of defamation and injurious falsehood by the police. He denied all the charges.
Both CPJ and RSF condemned Mr. Uhia’s arrest, with both media rights watchdogs warning Nigerian government to drop all charges and stop worsening the country’s press freedom standing.
Nigeria’s overall human rights performance has worsened since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015, and journalists have continued to suffer under detention and interference from the police and the federal agents. The arrests and charges were mostly about defamation of character, which is a civil matter that ordinarily should not warrant deployment of state assets.
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