Professor Ben Ayade, the Cross River State Governor has said the publisher of Cross River Watch, Agba Jalingo was arrested because he planned to overthrow President, General Muhammadu Buhari, rtd.
The publisher was arrested in Lagos on August 22 over a report claiming that professor Ayade diverted N500 million belonging to the state, Premium Times reports.
But Ayade, speaking for the first time since the journalist was arrested, told newsmen on Monday at the presidential villa, Abuja that in court, it is Federal Government versus Agba Jalingo, not Cross River State.
He added that Jalingo was arrested because of his relationship with Omoyele Sowore who called for revolution.
“He’s in court for treason, a state does not have the power to try anyone for treason, it’s not me.”
“On his Facebook page, he sent pictures where he was being teargassed at the revolution march in Lagos. His own pictures, posted by himself and when Sowore was being arrested, he went back to his Facebook to post that the revolution has just started, ‘we will continue this battle until revolution works’. He admitted this in Court,”.
“You are seeing him as a journalist, but he’s not, he’s the chairman of Sowore’s party in Cross River State so he’s a politician. He has a primary calling, which is journalism.
“Once he started the campaign to overthrow the government of President Buhari, he ceased to be seen from the point of a journalist because he has become the state chairman of a party.”
“I am of the opinion that Agba should be released because I think he was just youthfully excited.
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“If you ask Agba Jalingo today, I’m the one working with his lawyers for his freedom, I’m the one sustaining him and sending upkeeps,” he said.
He said the journalist betrayed him after he assisted him and his newspaper. He accused the journalist of serial acts of “blackmail”.
“Please don’t get it wrong, Agba Jalingo is not just from Cross River State, he’s not just from Obudu, where I also come from, he’s my brother.
“Please ask Agba Jalingo, that CrossRiverWatch, the first person to give him money to set up the office was me. His official vehicle, it was me. I don’t have to list all of these, he knows that I have funded and supported him, but journalism stops where blackmail becomes part of your strategy.
“Today you need something, then Ayade is a good man and you start writing all the good things, but if I take my phone and show you our WhatsApp communication, you will call me a godly man. Today I need money to set up a computer school, tomorrow I need money to feed my birds, the other day I need to be INNOSON’s sole distributor in Cross River State, I do all that.
“But when I don’t get a thing right you go to the social media and write something as careless as Governor Ayade has taken N500 million to Russia. You impugned my father’s name, my character, my family name, for just a personal request that I’ve not met, out of many that I have met.
“Please for once, put yourselves in my shoes. All I simply did was to stay out of the issue,” the governor said.
“I have an intellectual background as a professor, I will stand with journalists at all times and I will never prosecute somebody.”
