The Department of State Services (DSS) has released two journalists with Jay 101.9 FM, Jos, Plateau State, who were wrongfully arrested during President Bola Tinubu’s visit to the state on Saturday.
The journalists, Ruth Marcus and Keshia Jang, were picked up while covering the burial of the mother of the All Progressives Congress national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwadta Goshwe.
A credible security source told The Nation that on hearing of the incident, the DSS Director-General, Oluwatosin Ajayi, immediately directed their release.
According to the source, the Service also contacted the national president of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Comrade Alhassan Yahaya, to convey the DG’s apologies.
The source explained that the DSS leadership assured the NUJ of its commitment to press freedom.
“The Director assured the NUJ President that the new DSS leadership treasures the importance of a free press in a democracy, and has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter. He further assured the NUJ President that any officer found culpable will be appropriately sanctioned,” the source said.
The insider added that Ajayi has been making efforts to correct excesses within the Service.
The source added, “The new DG is correcting the wrongs he inherited. One of them is overzealousness. This is why the new DG has not failed to admit so whenever the Service makes mistakes. We are witnesses to several instances when the Service apologized and even compensated victims of wrongful arrests.
“The DG is an absolute lover of human rights and press freedom. You may recall that sometime ago, the DSS DG apologized to the management of TVC over the alleged harassment and intimidation of a reporter.”
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