The detained Maiduguri Bureau Chief of Daily Trust, Uthman Abubakar, has been released by the military authorities who detained him since Sunday afternoon.
This is coming as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has called on the Nigerian Army to strike a balance between security and human rights in its operations.
The Editor-in-Chief of Daily Trust, Mannir Dan-Ali, announced the release shortly after speaking to the editor who was brought back to the Maiduguri office by an unnamed Major who handed him over to a security officer at the office.
Uthman who maintains that he was courteously treated, however, said his mobile phones and laptop are still with the military.
They told him that they need time to finish the forensic checks they are carrying out on the equipment.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has called on the Nigerian Army to strike a balance between security and human rights in its operations.
The Executive Secretary of the commission, Mr. Tony Ojukwu, made the appeal yesterday in Abuja.
A statement signed by the commission’s Director, Corporate Affairs and External Linkage, Mr. Lambert Opara, said Ojukwu was reacting to the invasion of Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily and Sunday Trust by the army.
Ojukwu said that although terrorism must never be allowed to continue to destroy the country, the military must at all times respect international best practices when addressing security challenges bedeviling the country.
This, according to him, will go a long way to ensure the protection of the human rights of every citizen.
He commended the federal government’s quick intervention in asking the invading soldiers to retrace their steps.
The human rights boss added that the role of the media could not be undermined in any democracy as the media remained the gatekeepers of the society.
He also advised journalists to observe caution as they exercised their right to freedom of expression, adding that freedom of expression was not absolute at all times.
