He was detained for publishing a story relating to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun’s credit card fraud in the United States of America.
Prince Olamilekan Hammed, blogger and publisher of Eagles Foresight has been released on bail after spending 138 days in detention.
He was detained for publishing a story relating to Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun’s credit card fraud in the United States of America.
It was gathered that Hammed, who appeared before the Federal High Court 1, Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital, was released on Tuesday.
His lawyer, Habeeb Whyte, confirmed his release to The PUNCH in a phone conversation.
“Yes, he has been released. The case was struck out,” he said.
SaharaReporters had reported how Hammed was arrested by Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS) in May.
The journalist was detained by the DSS, also known as the State Security Service (SSS), on the orders of Dapo Abiodun.
According to his lawyer, he was invited by the agency over a report he published exposing the criminal activities of Abiodun.
“The Ogun State Command of the State Security Service (SSS) has arrested and detained blogger and publisher of eaglesforesight.com.ng, Prince Olamilekan Hammed (Lahbash) for reasons yet to be disclosed,” the lawyer had said in a statement.
However, it was reported that Ogun State Government denied Governor Abiodun’s involvement in the blogger’s arrest and detention.
However, Hammed’s lawyer, Ogun, had insisted that the governor was involved, as he released a document reportedly forwarded to the Ogun State Police Command by the DSS in which the governor was linked to the blogger’s arrest.
He accused Governor Abiodun of instigating the blogger’s arrest, adding that Abiodun had the right to challenge the publication in court instead of using the secret police to harass the reporter.