The governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has denied a media claim that he had ordered the custody and incarceration of blogger Ahmed Olamilekan due to a supposedly defamatory article published.
Olamilekan was reportedly held by the Correctional Service for 100 days at the governor’s request, according to his lawyer, in a national newspaper (not Blueprint).
However, according to a statement from Kunle Somorin, the governor’s chief press secretary, the blogger’s arrest and detention had nothing to do with Governor Abiodun.
The report, which the statement referred to as “untrue and a deliberate attempt to put the governor in poor light,” had been published.
Governor Abiodun, according to Somorin, highly values human rights and the rule of law and will never act in defiance of the law.
Indicating that the governor, who firmly believes in the idea of separation of powers, will never obstruct or influence the judicial process, he continued by saying that the subject is already before a court of law.
In the statement, Somorin requested the public to disregard the blogger’s lawyer’s accusation as it was printed in the national daily, emphasising that “It is entirely an issue between the defendant, security agencies, and the court.”
