Abubakar Sidiq Usman, publisher of abusidiqu.com is still in custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), despite the announcement made by the anti-graft agency that it has released the blogger.
Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman for EFCC on Monday ? said, “the suspect (Usman) has already been offered administrative bail and would be released to his elected sureties.”
The details of the administrative bail, which was read to our correspondent on phone, demanded that the two sureties must be Directors in the civil service.
Family sources informed that Abubakar Sidiq Usman has not been able to meet the bail condition.
The blogger was arrested Monday morning in his home in Kubwa, Abuja for exposing shady dealings involving Ibrahim Magu, EFCC chairman.
The EFCC in a statement, said, Abubakar Sidiq Usman was arrested for cyber stalking; which is the repeated use of electronic communications to harass, or frighten someone, for example by sending threatening e-mails.
However, Nigeria has no law on cyber stalking; consequently, the Online Publishers Association of Nigeria(OPAN) has condemned the arrest of Abubakar Sidiq Usman.
The body described his arrest as an attempt to stifle press freedom Nigeria and asked EFCC to release Abubakar Sidiq Usman immediately without conditions or bring him before a competent court.
OPAN pointed out that EFCC`s action was an abuse of its powers and demanded the anticorruption agency to cease and desist from acting as judge, jury and executioner.
