A popular news blogger and owner of Naijalivetv.com, Mr Mienpamo Saint has been kidnapped by unknown gunmen at his residence in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Reports have it that the gunmen invaded his home at about 1:00am on Saturday and whisked him to away after seizing his phones and those of his relatives.
The incident has already generated uproar among journalists especially online media practitioners, who condemned the development and called for his unconditional release.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) pokesperson Asinim Butswat said he was yet to be briefed on the matter.
A media rights activist and Convener of Yenagoa Media Forum (YMF), Agidee Theophilus, described the incident as calamitous.
Theophilus said: “This is another, in a series of calamitous events that have befallen men and women of the besieged fourth estate of the realm in the state.
“The Yenagoa Media Forum joins other members of the pen fraternity to condemn the abduction of the media practitioner who in recent times has published scathing reports about key political actors in the Bayelsa State government.
“While the painful memory of the unresolved murder of Famous Giobaro is still fresh in our minds, we urged the Bayelsa State Police Command to do everything within it’s powers to resolve the matter within the shortest possible time.
“Our work as journalists in the state is almost a thankless job while dissenting voices are treated as pariahs. For those who have instigated this shameful act, let’s be reminded of the very insightful statement by the late US, President John F. Kennedy on freedom of the press”.
