The Patriotism Advancement and Community Orientation Network (PACON) has called on the Department of State Service (DSS) to unconditionally release the re-arrested Bayelsa State publisher of a local tabloid, Jones Abiri.
Abiri, the publisher of the Weekly Source was arrested at Ayabowei Plaza in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, by security operatives suspected to be members of DSS.
Abiri was reportedly discussing with his colleagues at the secretariat of the Bayelsa Independent Publishers Association (BIPA), when he was rounded up by the heavily armed men.
In 2016, the DSS arrested Abiri, alleging that he was the leader of a militant coalition, Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), which threatened to release missiles in the Niger Delta region.
He later regained freedom in 2018 following campaigns by national and international human rights groups.
PACON in a statement signed by its Arch Convener, Aluzu Ebikebuna, condemned his second arrests within three after spending about two years in DSS detention without trial.
Be the first to comment