24Naija

Journalist Samuel Ogundipe Released on Bail after 3-day Detention

Samuel Ogundipe, the Premium Times journalist who has been in police custody since Tuesday has been released, Premium Times is reporting.

Ogundipe was arrested by SARS officers and taken to the police headquarters, alongside the editor-in-chief of the news portal. The editor-in-chief was later released.

The journalist was held over a story he reported about Police IG Ibrahim Idris.

Premium Times reports that Ogundipe was first arraigned, although secretly, at the Kubwa Grade 1 Magistrate Court in Abuja.

Magistrate Abdulwahab Mohammed granted the police’s request to keep Ogundipe in custody for 5 more days.

Premium Times later learnt that Ogundipe was to be taken to the same court, and sent its lawyer there.

The lawyer argued for Ogundipe’s bail, an argument the police counsel did not oppose to.

Mohammed granted the request and granted him a N500,000 bail and a surety who must be a resident of the jurisdiction of the court.

Ogundipe’s report was about what Idris said in an interim report to acting president Yemi Osinbajo over the DSS siege on the national assembly,

Idris had said sacked DSS boss Lawal Daura acted under the influence of politicians and didn’t inform other security agencies of the move to invade the national assembly, according to Ogundipe’s story.

Photo Credit: Premium Times