Publications On NDDC, Akpabio: Publisher Opukeme Raises Alarm Over Threat To Life – The Liberator 

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Says Akpabio, IMC should be held responsible if anything happens to him, his family

By Binebai Princewill
Veteran Journalist, Mr. Cletus Opukeme, Publisher/Editor-In-Chief of Daily Watch Online Newspaper has raised alarm to members of the general public that his life is in grave danger following his publications on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and its supervising minister who doubles as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, His Excellency, Godswill Akpabio on the massive looting allegedly rocking the commision at the moment.
The popular online publisher raised the alert yesterday via a statement he personally signed and circulated to newsmen in Warri, a copy of which was sent to The Liberator Newspaper.
The veteran journalist had particularly called on the Inspector General of Police Mr. Mohammed Adamu to hold Niger Delta minister Godswill Akpabio and members of the NDDC Interim Management cCommittee (IMC) responsible if anything happens to him and members of his immediate family.

Opukeme had warned that whoever that is behind such crooked move to suppress the authentic publications of Daily Watch Newspaper should desist from it as whoever that feels aggrieved with such publications should feel free to approach the court to seek redress.

The statement revealed that suspected team of security operatives, allegedly from Abuja traced the Publisher to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Office In Warri where a certain journalist was allegedly brutalized and bundled out of the office in a fearsome manner but was dumped after realising that he was not Cletus Opukeme that they were looking for.

The Publisher has described the act as an embarrassment to the Nigerian democracy, vowing that attempts to gag the press from its freedom of information will not work.

The statement reads below:

Press release

THREAT TO MY LIFE

My attention has been drawn to a clandestine move by Niger Delta Minister Godswill Akpabio who is the supervising minister of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) using crooked Inspector General of Police (IGP) Boys to abduct me and do whatever thing they were instructed to do to me over Daily Watch exposes of the monumental fraud in NDDC running to billions of naira that had attracted the Senate and National House or Representatives to set up various committees to probe the commission Interim Management Committee.

Yesterday,the IGP boys from Abuja traced me from Abuja to the office of the Nigerian Union of journalists office in Warri,Delta State and in a commando like manner abducted Mr. Matthew Omonigho away who later called that he was dumped at Area Commander office Warri.

The Union leadership sent a delegation to the police station to know why he was arrested without reason for his arrest and bundled away like a common criminal and manhandled.

The police instead of listening to the NUJ delegation confisticated all their phones and detained them also

The Police told them that they were special squad sent from Abuja to arrest Mr. Cletus Opukeme, the Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief of Daily Watch.

I want to categorically warn that the so called crooked IGP paid boys and other security operatives should stay away from Daily Watch publications. That if Senator Godswill Akpabio or any other person feel aggrieved by our published stories. They know the right option which is to seek for redress as the court is there for them to sue Daily Watch publisher and allow the judiciary to determine our publication whether it is libelous and defamatiory. It is not the place of DSS ,the IGP boys or any other security operatives to be used to intimidate Daily Watch over our genuine investigations which first exposed large scale of financial missapproriation in NDDC. Senator Akpabio has turned NDDC to a cash cow looting the common wealth of the people of Niger Delta and intimidation or arrest by IGP Boys /DSS cannot frighten us from doing what we know how to do best by informing the public the right information.

The invasion of Warri NUJ office by the crooked IGP TEAM to arrest a journalist is an embarrassment to democracy in the country as journalists have freedom of expression enshrined on the nation’s constitution.

If Akpabio is aggrieved by our publications for exposing his massive looting, he should go to court and stop intimidating me with the police and ex-militants to gag the press from doing our Constitutional duties

The said IG squad called one of the arrested journalists to direct them to Cletus Opukeme’s residence who identified himself as Reuben with the following phone

One Reuben with mobile phone number:08116912068 quoting the reporter ”One Mr. Reuben just called now requesting to know if I have been able to see Cletus. I told him that he only called me this morning wherein I asked him to be at the Area Command with me in solidarity and he refused. Again, he asked if I know any link with which they could get him and I said No. He later cut the call”

Therefore, I am calling the Inspector General of Police Mr. Mohammed Adamu to hold Niger Delta minister Godswill Akpabio and the members of the NDDC Interim management committee responsible, if anything happens to my life and members of my immediate family.

Signed

Cletus Opukeme

Publisher/ Editor-in- Chief

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