SSS Arrests PREMIUM TIMES Editor

Nigeria’s secret police, the State Security Service, SSS, on Tuesday arrested a PREMIUM TIMES editor, Ibanga Isine, while carrying out his duties.

Mr. Isine, who is the newspaper’s regional editor, was reporting from a federal High Court in Abuja when he was arrested.

He had gone there for cases slated for the day, among them, the trial of Charles Okah, the alleged mastermind of the 2010 Independence Day bombing in Abuja.

Mr. Okah, a brother to Henry Okah, the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation Niger Delta, MEND, is facing terrorism charges.

On Tuesday, after addressing the judge briefly, Mr. Okah attempted to jump to his death from the third floor of the five-storey building, but was pulled back by security operatives.

Shortly after, the SSS arrested Mr. Isine, and seized his phones and other electronic devices, ensuring he was not in touch with his office or colleagues throughout Tuesday.

The agents did not provide any reason for detaining him. A spokesperson for the service could not be immediately reached.

Mr. Isine was held at the SSS headquarters for several hours before being transferred to the service’s office at Asokoro in Abuja.

He only managed to make contact with the office late Tuesday night, and was subsequently released