At a press conference hosted by the Coalition of Journalists of Conscience (CJC) in Lagos, Mrs. Mercy Samuel sobbed as she spoke, stating that her children have not been attending school because of her husband's arrest.
I implore the Taraba State Government to free my husband, if for no other reason than for the benefit of the family, the woman pleaded.
CJC Secretary General Akinwale Kasali pleaded with the Nigerian Police, the Taraba State Police Commissioner, and Governor Darius Ishaku to free Ayodele Samuel in accordance with a court ruling during a press conference.
He stated that Samuel had been hauled before a Magistrate Court in Jalingo presided over by Justice Garba S. Garba on charges of two counts of defamation and hurtful lying.
He was formally accused of criminal behaviour by the state governor and the attorney general's office.
“It is a response to long-held resentment over an article titled "Taraba for Sale" that appeared on page 5 of the Taraba Truth and Facts Newspaper on September 17, 2022. "The publication alleges a possible sale of the Taraba State-owned Mambilla Beverages Company and state property, including the liaison office in Abuja, in which similar publications had appeared on other notable Nigerian media before the publication on Taraba Truth and Facts without rebuttal," the article read
The state government's criminal abuse of power is a truth, and Akinwale has acknowledged that all bail requirements have been met; nonetheless, it is not entirely obvious why the publisher was remanded.
In order to satisfy Governor Ishaku's desire for oppression, he explained that the action was taken in an effort to stall the bail procedure and keep the innocent media entrepreneur in the Taraba State Police Command's custody for as long as possible: "Now, the Magistrate Court Registrar is saying the case file has been transferred to the state High Court."