Channels Television presenters, Chamberlain Usoh and Kayode Okikiolu have spoken out over their alleged arrest by the Department of State Service (DSS).
Reports on Thursday claimed that the DSS arrested the presenters over the recent interview with Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom and a former military officer, Olawunmi.
Ortom had during the interview accused President Muhammadu Buhari of plots to ‘Fulanise’ Nigeria.
The presenters, while confirming their encounter with DSS said they were not arrested but were only invited by the secret police. They added that they were let go after their interactions with the security agency.
Meanwhile, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) had also summoned the duo of Usoh and Okikiolu.
FirstNews had reported that Usoh, Okikiolu and two other anchors of the TV’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast programme were invited to the Abuja office of the regulator on Thursday over some comments made against President Buhari by Ortom and Olawunmi on the programme during the week.
This was made known by human rights’ activist and former Chairman of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chidi Odinkalu, on his Twitter handle.
He wrote, ”There is confirmation that @nbcgovng has summoned the presenters of @sunrisedailynow for this morning.”
The deployment led to a raging reports that the presenters were arrested by the DSS men.
But the agency denied the arrest via a statement issued by its spokesman, Peter Afunanya, on Thursday titled, ‘No Channels Television Reporters Were Arrested By The DSS’.
Afunanya said, “The attention of the DSS has been drawn to news making the rounds in some sections of the media that its operatives earlier today (26th August, 2021) arrested two (2) journalists of Channels Television. This is false and misleading. Fake news peddlers should shun the act.”
The management of Channels TV in a statement, also said, “Contrary to the news on social media that our Sunrise Daily’s anchors have been arrested, this is just to clarify that no such arrest was made.
“But the entire anchors were invited for a meeting by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in Abuja and they have since returned from that meeting.”