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The blogger, Hammed Olamilekan, detained over an article written on the alleged criminal past of the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, was on Tuesday released.
Olamilekan, popular known as Labash, who appeared before the Federal High Court 1, Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital, was released after spending 138 days at the Ibara Prison in Abeokuta.
His lawyer, Habeeb Whyte, confirmed his release saying, “Yes, he has been released. The case was struck out,” he said.
The blogger was arrested mid-may. The lawyer, who was earlier handling his case, Festus Ogun, had said that Olamilekan was detained on Friday, May 13, after he honoured an invitation by the Ogun State command of the secret police.
He accused Governor Abiodun of instigating the blogger’s arrest, adding that Abiodun had the right to challenge the publication in court instead of using the Department of State Security Services to harass the reporter.
Although the Ogun State Government denied Governor Abiodun’s involvement in the blogger’s arrest, Labash’s lawyer, Ogun, had insisted on the governor’s involvement, as he released a document reportedly forwarded to the Ogun State Police Command by the State Security Services, where the governor was linked to the blogger’s arrest.
Whyte also confirmed that the blogger was arrested and tried over his report on Abiodun. According to him, he was charged for the “derogatory news on his website that touches on the person of the governor.”
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