Operatives from the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested journalist Edna Ulaeto of OrderPaper during a raid on her home on Friday.
On Wednesday, the paper reported that the DSS had taken control of the National Assembly complex amid alleged impeachment efforts against the Senate president and other key officials.
According to a statement from OrderPaper management, armed and masked DSS agents stormed Ms. Ulaeto’s residence, mistreating her before forcibly taking her to an undisclosed location.
The statement revealed that neighbors who tried to intervene or document the incident were pushed away, with some being threatened into deleting their photos and videos.
“The young lady, still in her casual nightwear, was violently manhandled and taken away against her will, leaving her family and neighbors in shock and fear,” the statement said.
OrderPaper contended that Ms. Ulaeto’s phone number had been unlawfully tracked, and her arrest is connected to a recent article that erroneously reported a DSS operation at the National Assembly, alleging that the operation aimed to thwart the removal of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Despite the newspaper’s retraction and public apology, the DSS proceeded with the arrest, leaving Ms. Ulaeto’s family and colleagues alarmed and distraught.
The organization has called on civil society and the international community to demand Ms. Ulaeto’s immediate release and to condemn the action as a violation of press freedom and human rights.
