“We Cannot Get Out!” LEADERSHIP Journalists Cry, As They Are Illegally Detained By President Jonathan

LEADERSHIP, the Abuja national newspaper four of whose journalists were summoned by the police today, are being detained on the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan, the newspaper has said in a statement.
As SaharaReporters reported previously, the journalists were invited to meet with the police in connection with a story the newspaper published last week about a presidential directive to muzzle political opposition, the supporting document of which appeared in the paper.
The statement, signed by the company's Group Managing Director, Azubuike Ishiekwene, named the four journalists as Chinyere Fred-Adebulugbe; Tony Amokeodo; Chibuzor Ukaibe; and Chuks Ohuegbe.
Mrs. Fred-Adebulugbe, the title's Director of Human Capital who led the group, said that after they had given written statements to Deputy Inspector-General of Police Peter Gana who interviewed them, they were abruptly told they would not be allowed to leave unless they disclosed their source.  
"We told them that it would be unethical to disclose our source and asked them to charge us to court, if they wanted," she said.  "They said they wanted to have the document. We said the bromide had been published and wondered why they were making such a fuss, since they said the document was a work of fiction."
LEADERSHIP described the latest development as "a calculated and brazen affront" on press freedom, and expressed consternation that a supposedly elected government has sunk so low.
"President Jonathan and his handlers need to tell Nigerians and the civilised world why they have suddenly moved from describing the document as "fiction," to a do-or-die obsession with knowing the source; they need to tell Nigerians most of who now live in mortal fear of their personal safety and security, if clamping down on the press has now become a priority sport," the statement said, expressing resolve to hold the government to account as enshrined in the constitution.
"We stand by our story and will neither be cowed nor intimidated by the strong-arm tactics of President Jonathan nor by the puerile attempts by his spokesmen – Doyin Okupe and Dr. Reuben Abati – to tarnish our report," the statement said.