By Ajani Okanlawon
Popular news network, Al Jazeera, has demanded the release “without conditions” of two of its reporters arrested by the Nigerian Military on Tuesday.
Ahmed Idris and Ali Mustafa, both Nigerian nationals, are accused of “loitering” in areas were combat operations were ongoing.
The military said the journalists were moving around “restricted areas” in Yobe and Borno states without protection, accreditation or clearance.
It said the journalists were monitored by intelligence operatives and were finally restrained to their hotel rooms in Maiduguri, the Borno capital, following increased suspicion that their activities were focused on interfering with ongoing military operations in those areas.
“The motive, activities and some materials in possession of these individuals are now being investigated,” the military said.
But the network said that both Idris and Mustafa are officially accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja with the clearance to report from anywhere in Nigeria during the entire election period.
“We call on the Nigerian authorities to release Ahmed Idris and Ali Mustafa; they have all the relevant paperwork to report on the Nigerian elections and stories related to the election,” an Al Jazeera spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Both men had just finished filming a story on the military with their cooperation. Both men are accredited and respected Nigerian journalists,” he said.
Al Jazeera confirmed that the journalists’ tools have also been confisticated.
