On Friday, the Lagos State police command confirmed the arrest of a journalist, Agba Jalingo, at his residence in the Alapere area of the state.
The operatives arrested the journalist after a three hours siege on his residence.
He had earlier raised an alarm about the presence of the security agents in a post on his Facebook page.
Jalingo wrote: “I don’t know who sent the police but they have held my wife and my daughter hostage downstairs. I don’t feel safe. Those are their faces.”
He also attached a picture of some men in mufti at the gate to the post.
Jalingo’s wife, Violet Agba, confirmed the arrest of the activist to journalists on Friday night.
She said Jalingo was arrested for allegedly defaming the character of the wife of Frank Ayade, the brother of the Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade.
The spokesman for the Lagos police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the development in a statement on Friday night.
Hundeyin said: “He (Jalingo) was arrested by the police from Abuja. They informed us before going. In fact they brought him to our facility in Lagos before going to Abuja.”
The activist was first arrested in 2019 for allegedly criticising the Cross Rivers State Governor, Ben Ayade.
He was later arraigned for alleged treason at the Federal High Court, Calabar.
The journalist was discharged and acquitted by Justice Sule Shuaibu in February 2020.