Security operatives have arrested a freelance journalist, Ayoola Babalola, covering the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protest, alongside an unconfirmed number of protesters in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Babalola, in a post on his WhatsApp status, disclosed his arrest on Saturday afternoon.
Tribune Online reports that security operatives suspected to be men of the Department of State Services (DSS), on Saturday, shot at protesters and journalists at the stadium.
Tribune Online learnt that journalists covering the protest at MKO Abiola stadium on Saturday narrowly escaped gunshots fired by the operatives, with the car belonging to a Premium Times journalist riddled with bullets.
“I’ve been arrested, comrades. I’m being held at Wuye Police Station. We are standing our ground and not releasing our devices,” Babalola, a former Peoples Gazette reporter, posted on his WhatsApp status, noting that he was apprehended alongside six others, including one Samuel Victor.
“They are taking our phones and taking us to the cell now,” he added in a message sent to a PUNCH reporter.
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, when contacted, said she was making efforts to get Babalola and others released.
“I’m only aware of two of them, not seven, and I’m making efforts on their release. I’m looking for the journalist, Ayoola (Babalola),” she said.
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