Founder of Media Room Hub, Azuka Ogujiuba, has narrated how she was arrested by police officers after publishing what she described as a court-ordered story.
Ogujiuba explained that she received the material from the head of media at Capital Guardians who informed her it was a court ruling authorised by a judge.
“I requested to see the document, read it, and saw that it was signed by a judge who gave the ruling. So, we went ahead and published it.”
“I run Media Room Hub on Instagram, and of course, we know that in the media world, a lot of us also strive on advertorials, you know, people pay for adverts and stuff. So, once in a while, we get things like that, and we publish them,” she said.
She revealed that her ordeal began when she received an unexpected message from the police.
“About a month later, I received a WhatsApp message. At first, I ignored it, thinking it was one of those random messages, but when I checked again, it was a letter from the Inspector General of Police’s office, sent by one Josephine Ometere.”
Ogujiuba recounted how she was confronted with allegations of cyberbullying in Abuja. “She then told me I was there because of cyberbullying. I was shocked and told her, ‘I don’t do gossip on my page. I don’t even do politics. We just do fashion events and coverages.’”
She stressed that her media house was not the only publisher of the story. “I explained to her that over 10 reputable media houses, including ThisDay, The Nation, Punch, Telegraph, and TVC, published the same content, so it wasn’t exclusive to us.”
On her second invitation, Ogujiuba said she was warned not to go but refused to believe she was in danger. “Yes, several people warned me, my friend Sade Balogun and about five others. They all said, ‘Don’t go; if you go, you won’t come out.’ But I didn’t believe them. I told them I was on bail, had done nothing wrong, and other media houses published the same story.”
She described how armed officers stormed her location. “As I was finishing another interview, suddenly, policemen stormed the building. We heard noises outside and thought it was a fight, but when we stepped out, about three or four officers armed with guns had blocked the gate.”
Ogujiuba added that she was physically harassed. “They came straight for me, tried to take my phone, and I insisted on calling my chairman Nduka Obaigbena and publisher, Shaka Momodu, but they refused and forcefully seized my phone.”
She further revealed, “Yes, they struggled with me while trying to take my phone. Josephine Ometere, the same officer who first contacted me, was there in person and participated in the arrest. She was the one who physically grabbed my phone.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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