The presiding Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, sitting in Maitama, Justice Chizoba Orji, on Tuesday ordered the detention of six judicial Correspondents for failure to secure permission to cover proceedings in the court. The judge was said to have insisted that journalists must obtain permission before they could cover her court.
The judge also ordered her Police Orderly, Gusar Dauda, to seize the phone belonging to Wumi Obabori, of the Africa Independent Television (AIT), and delete all pictures and videos in the phone.
The six Judiciary Correspondents were said to be detained for over two hours in Court 9 of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, sitting in Maitama, while on official duties.
Other journalists were identified to include Godwin Tsa of the Sun Newspaper, Ikechukwu Nnochiri, of Vanguard Newspaper, Augustine Okezie of Raypower Fm/AIT and a veteran journalist, Charles Ozoemena.
The drama kicked off shortly after the judge went on recess.
A female Registrar of the court was said to have confronted a Correspondence from the AIT who wanted to record videos for her report while the Judge was on recess. The Registrar had challenged the Correspondence, saying that journalists have no right to cover the court.
The court official immediately called in a police officer attached to the judge to arrest the Correspondence.
The police orderly, Gusar Dauda, who claimed that he had the authority of the judge, swiftly locked the main gate to the courtroom and went for his firearm, while ordering all the journalists to surrender their phones.
Some lawyers and litigants, in the courtroom, attempted to calm the situation, but the police officer and court officials refused to allow the journalists to leave the courtroom, without complying with the order.
Justice Orji returned to the court after about one hour and summoned the AIT reporter, cautioning that no journalist has the right to take recordings in her courtroom.
Other journalists then stood up to identify themselves.
Source: AIT News