For two good years, a father of five was locked away from his family by men of Nigeria's secret police till he was presumed dead by his people.
Jones Abiri before his arrest by DSS
Nigerian journalist and Editor in Chief of the Weekly Source Newspaper, Jones Abiri has been released from detention by the Department of State Services (DSS) on August 15, 2018.
Emaciated photos of the young man have been making rounds on social media with people urging him to press charges against the government over the extended and unlawful incarceration without arraignment in court.
Abiri at his DSS cell
Jones Abiri was arrested by DSS officials on July 21, 2016, in Bayelsa State, and was accused of being a militant, who is interested in blackmailing international oil companies for pecuniary gain.
Ever since his arrest, Jones Abiri has been denied access to his wife and five children. In fact, he was never allowed to see anyone and many Nigerians thought he was dead until the DSS produced him in court in July, 2018.
An emaciated Abiri at the court room
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), as well as several other bodies and individuals in and outside the country, have been clamouring for his release, using social media advocacy.
When Jones Abiri appeared in an Abuja court in August 2018, the DSS could not bring a single witness against him, a pointer to the fact that the charges against him might be trumped-up.