Al Jazeera has launched a demand
for the release of their staff; Ahmed Idris and Ali Mustafa who were detained
in Maiduguri while covering upcoming polls.
The two Al Jazeera
journalists covering the upcoming Nigerian presidential elections were detained
by government forces in the city of Maiduguri in Borno state.
Ahmed Idris and Ali
Mustafa, both Nigerian nationals, remain confined in their hotel room
and their equipment confiscated after being questioned by the military
officials on Tuesday.
The Nigerian military
has said that the journalists were operating without "protection,
accreditation or due clearance", and confirmed that the two journalists
remain officially detained until further notice.
The two journalists
were detained while reporting on the Nigerian forces fighting armed group
Boko Haram as part of Al Jazeera's special coverage on the upcoming elections. Al Jazeera has
demanded the release of two of its journalists "without conditions".
The network said that
both Idris and Mustafa are officially accredited by the Independent Electoral
Commission in Abuja with the clearance to report from anywhere in Nigeria
during the entire election period.
"We call on the
Nigerian authorities to release Ahmed Idris and Ali Mustafa; they have all the
relevant paperwork to report on the Nigerian elections and stories related to
the election",
an Al Jazeera spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Both men had
just finished filming a story on the military with their cooperation. Both men
are accredited and respected Nigerian journalists", the statement read.
The military
statement also said that both men were said to be 'loitering' in various
locations, however they were actually detained in their hotel rooms.
Culled: msn
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