The International Press Centre, IPC, Lagos-Nigeria, through its Safety and Protection of Journalists (SPJ) hub condemns the intimidation, harassment and detention of Buhari Abba Rano, Online Editor with Kano Times and Isma’il Auwa, a freelance journalist by Kano State Police Command on the alleged orders of the Commissioner of Information, Ibrahim Waiya.
Speaking with Melody Akinjiyan, the Press Freedom Officer of IPC, Buhari Rano confirmed that he was invited by the Kano State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID) of the Kano Police Command where he was detained for three (3) hours and his phone seized.
“I honoured their invitation yesterday and was detained for three hours and asked to come back tomorrow. This intimidation my colleague and I are going through is in connection to an opinion article published by Kano Times, which I did not author,” Buhari Rano noted.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade in a statement said, “this action is highly condemnable and the Police alongside the Kano State Government must uphold their responsibility to respect everyone’s right to freedom of expression. The Police must desist from being used to constantly punish journalists who carry out their duties.”
SPJ-Hub is therefore calling on the Kano State Police Command through the Commissioner of Police to stop all forms of intimidation and harassment on Buhari Rano and Isma’il Auwa and guarantee their safety.