DSS releases Abiri, keeps mum over reason for his arrest

Few days after his arrest, the Department of State Services (DSS) has released Jones Abiri, a Bayelsa-based journalist and publisher who was taken into its custody.

Since Saturday when he was arrested, there has still been no official statement from the DSS to clarify the arrest.

However Abiri’s lawyer, Samuel Ogala, said his client was released from the secret police’s detention facility in Abuja on Monday afternoon.

Jones Abiri, editor and publisher of the Weekly Source newspaper, was accosted by operatives of the DSS as he was meeting six colleagues at the Bayelsa Federated Newspaper Publishers Association.

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Abiri was previously held by the DSS for two years without trial. Duing his time in detention, he had no access to a lawyer or his family

He was accused of being the leader of the joint revolutionary council of the separatist group, Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force. He was also accused of threatening oil companies.

Abiri was freed in August last year following a campaign by rights organisations.

Abiri’s arrest had again generated reactions from different quarters. A group, Concerned Nigerians, condemned the arrest describing it as a clear affront on press freedom.

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the press freedom group was “deeply worried” about Abiri’s arrest.

“We call on federal and state authorities in Nigeria to disclose where Abiri is being detained and the reasons for his arrest, and urge that they ensure that his rights are not violated yet again and that due process is respected,” it said.

Amnesty International also expressed concern over the arrest “by armed men suspected to be DSS operatives”. It added in a Twitter post: “The humiliating manner of his arrest is unacceptable.”

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