September 10, (THEWILL) — A Kano-based journalist, Abdulaziz Aliyu, was detained for more than two hours by police on Monday night, over a radio programme.
Aliyu, who presents a Hausa-language historical programme on Karama Radio, said he was summoned by an officer who identified himself as CSP Sabo.
Speaking with Reuters on Wednesday, Aliyu said while the officer initially claimed his name appeared in a stolen phone investigation, “On arrival, I was confronted with an entirely different matter: a complaint over my publication. The police deceived me; it was about an article that allegedly offended some individuals.”
The programme in question discussed the late Malam Jafaru Ɗan Isiyaku, who ruled the Zazzau emirate from 1937 to 1959.
While efforts to contact Kano State Police spokesperson SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa for comments on the matter were unsuccessful, the Association of Kano Online Journalists (ASKOJ) has condemned the incident, warning that the police were using deception and intimidation to silence reporters.
A statement by ASKOJ chairman, Comrade Yakubu Salisu, described the rising pattern of police harassment of reporters as “deeply worrying.”
“Journalism is a constitutionally recognised profession, yet some individuals intoxicated by power view it as a threat and use state resources to harass, intimidate, arrest, and, in some cases, endanger the lives of journalists”, he said, urging authorities and stakeholders to seek redress through lawful and civil channels.
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