PREMIUM TIMES reporter investigating private school arrested in Lagos …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1) PREMIUM TIMES reporter, Nicholas Ibekwe, arrested by police offuce in Lagos, Friday morning, while investigating a private school in the state has been released. He was released on the intervention of the Public Relations Officer of Lagos Police command, Ngozi Briade. He continued his investigation. 2) A PREMIUM TIMES journalist, Nicholas Ibekwe, has been arrested in Lagos and taken to the Shasha Police Station in the Akowonjo Area of the city. Police officers, apparently called in by the school’s proprietor, arrested Mr. Ibekwe Friday morning while he was investigating complaints by some parents that a private school, Great Michaels Comprehensive School, was blocking their wards from sitting for WAEC examination for failing to pay some fees demanded by the school. The school, located at No. 23, Elsie Magchuka Street, Ilupeji, Shasha Estate, prevented the pupils from taking the WAEC exams after they had fully paid the registration fee as well as first term school fees. Although the official fee for WAEC is N9,750, the school charged parents N48,000 for the registration of their wards. But even after that was paid, the school insisted pupils must fully pay they second and third terms fees (N50,000) as well as graduation charges (N10,000) before they are allowed into the examination hall. Some affected parents contacted this newspaper requesting it to investigate. They argued that second term had only just begun while third term is still months away, and that they deserved to be given time to pay up. On Thursday, Mr. Ibekwe visited the school to make enquiries. On Friday morning, he returned there to observe whether the school would block affected pupils from sitting for the English exams holding today. But no sooner had he arrived than some police officers from the Shasha Police Division arrested him, saying they were acting on the instruction of their divisional police officer. As they were taking him away, Mr. Ibekwe telephoned his editor to inform him of his arrest. But a voice was overheard in the background instructing the police officers to confiscate the reporter’s phone and stop him from making calls. The call was abruptly terminated and Mr. Ibekwe has been unreachable ever since. Contacted, the spokesperson of the Lagos state Command of the police, Ngozi Braide, said she has contacted the DPO of the station, asking him to let our reporter go.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 16:35:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015