Drama As Police Storm TV Station, Arrest Guest On Live TV

There was drama at the ABN TV station in Umuahia, Abia State capital, on Tuesday, when men from the State Police Command stormed the station and forcibly arrested a guest, Mr. Udensi Donald, during a live broadcast.

Donald was a guest on “Youth Rendezvous”, hosted by Grace Onyekachi at the time of his arrest.

The Director of ABN TV/Radio, Ifeanyi Okali, while commenting on the incident, said the invasion was a provocation against human rights and press freedom.

He stated, “We are worried about the invasion of our broadcast station in Umuahia by officers from the Nigerian Police, Umuahia Area Command in Abia State.”

“At approximately 2:40 pm on Tuesday, January 16, 2023, the policemen raided our station during a live program to arrest our guest, one Mr. Udensi Donald during a program, Youth Rendezvous.”

He added that the police said the arrest was as a result of the guest’s older brother, Mr Uche Onwuka Udensi, who had lodged a petition against him over a family dispute.

“Despite our staff’s repeated requests to the authorities to allow the broadcast to stop before the guest was detained, they insisted on taking him away while the live program was still running.

“We find this very inflammatory and an act of overzealousness by the police officers, who clearly violated the rules of engagement.”