The Federal Government has said it does not have any plan to trample on freedom of the press in the country.

Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

He was referring to the arrest of Premium Times publisher, Dapo Olorunyomi and a judiciary reporter, Evelyn Okakwu by the Nigerian Police.

The minister said their arrest had nothing to do with the government.

He said, “The Federal Government will not do anything to stifle press freedom, because it is keenly aware that a free press is vital to the success of any democracy.

“The Federal Government has nothing to do with the recent arrest of Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher of the online newspaper Premium Times, and a reporter working for the paper, Ms. Evelyn Okakwu.”

Mohammed wondered how a personal affair between an individual and a privately owned media house could be linked to the government.

The minister said, “We have said it before and we want to re-state it: The Federal Government has no immediate or long-term plan to stifle press freedom.

“Even the social media, with its warts and all, will neither be regulated nor have its operations tampered with.”

Azeez