Defamation Trial: Police Forced Me to Write Statement – Journalist

An investigative journalist in Delta State, Amour Udemude on Wednesday told a Magistrate Court in Asaba that that the police dictated his statement to him to write amid threats and intimidation.

Udemude and another journalist, Joe Ogbodu, are facing trial for alleged defamation.

In October, 2019, the duo were arrested following a petition by one Sam Ogrih, alleging defamation.

They were subsequently arraigned for misdemeanour to wit defamatory.

The article in question was on a bloody crisis by some youths at Uzere community, Isoko South Local Government Area of the state over N20 million largesse from the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

In his defence during the continuation of the the case marked CMA/425c/2019, Commissioner of Police vs Prince Amour Udemude and Joe Ogbodu, Udemude told the court that on that fateful day of his arrest, the leader of the team and prosecutor, Theresa Okpor, forced him to write a statement she was dictating to him.

“I was bullied, threatened and intimidated by the police officer, Theresa Okpor, who was taking my statement, she forced me to write what she was dictating to me which I vehemently refused but she insisted that I must write her dictated statement or I will be thrown into the cell to languish. At a point she was forcing me to say the story was false that I was paid to tarnish the images of Ogomudia and Ogrih. Because of her resistance, I spent several hours in writing my statement. At a time when I said I was done, she took a look at the statement and insisted that I was not done, that I must continue and write all what she was telling me to write. She continued to bully threaten and intimidate me all through my statement,” he said.