Jones Abiri, the Nigerian journalist, Jones Abiri, who was arrested on Saturday by armed men believed to be operatives of the State Security Service has been released.
According to his lawyer, Samuel Ogala, the Bayelsa-based magazine publisher was released on Monday afternoon from DSS detention facility in Abuja.
Ogala said, “He has just been released around 2:00 p.m.,” adding that terms of the release would be disclosed later.
The men who arrested Mr Abiri came in a Toyota Hilux truck. He was arrested in Yenagoa, the capital of his home Bayelsa State where he publishes his Weekly Source magazine.
The SSS initially denied knowledge of the arrest, but those who were with him insisted the agency was responsible.
No official statement had been issued to clarify the arrest, which comes months after the journalist was released from prolonged detention.
Abiri was arrested in 2016 on allegations of blackmailing expatriation oil workers in the Niger-Delta. He denied the allegations, but was kept in custody for two years before he was freed on a court order.
He subsequently sued the agency and received damages for N10 million in the case.
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