DSS Releases Journalists Arrested During Tinubu’s Visit To Plateau

DSS Releases Journalists Arrested During Tinubu’s Visit To Plateau
DG Ajayi personally ordered their release and apologized to NUJ.
Service vows to punish erring officers and promote media freedom.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has released two journalists with Jay 101.9 FM, Jos, Plateau State, who were wrongfully arrested while covering President Bola Tinubu’s visit to the state on Saturday.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the journalists, Ruth Marcus and Keshia Jang, were reportedly detained while covering the burial of the mother of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe.

According to a credible security source, the DSS Director-General, Oluwatosin Ajayi, ordered their immediate release upon learning of the incident. The source said the Service also reached out to the National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Alhassan Yahaya, to convey the DG’s personal apologies over the matter.

“The Director assured the NUJ President that the new DSS leadership values press freedom as a cornerstone of democracy and has ordered a thorough investigation. Any officer found culpable will be appropriately sanctioned,” the source stated.

The insider further disclosed that the new DSS leadership under Ajayi has been working to correct long-standing excesses within the Service.

“The new DG is correcting inherited wrongs, including cases of overzealousness. He has consistently admitted mistakes and offered apologies when necessary. There have been instances where the Service apologized and even compensated victims of wrongful detention,” the source added.

The DSS DG, described as an advocate for human rights and media freedom, had previously apologized to TVC management over alleged harassment of one of its reporters.

The swift release of the journalists has been commended by several media stakeholders, who described it as a positive signal of reform within the country’s top intelligence agency.