Some concerned citizens have stormed the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in a protest demonstration, demanding the immediate release of Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), clandestinely picked up on May 1.
The protest at the NPF headquarters in Abuja followed the continuous detention of Ojukwu for nine days as well as the silence of the police leadership on the matter.
Prominent Nigerians like the Revolution Now Convener, Omoyele Sowore, Human Rights Activist, Bukky Shonibare and other media practitioners are leading the protest at the entrance of the police complex.
On May 1, operatives of the Nigerian police clandestinely “abducted” Ojukwu; His phone lines were switched off while detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Lagos.
The FIJ reported a missing person to the police by May 2, and until it hired a private detective to track the reporter’s last active location on his phones, both the media organisation and his relative did not get wind of his whereabouts.
Ojukwu remained in detention from May 1 to May 5, before being given access to his phones.
He was subsequently transferred by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) to Abuja, where he was detained in a cell at the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC), and later to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID).
The media organisation during this period, discovered the reporter was picked up for violating the Cyber-Crime Act of 2015, while the Nigeria Police Force remained mum on the matter.
However, the spokesperson of the police, Muyiwa Adejobi hinted that his detention was connected to a written petition against the reporter.
In October 2023, Ojukwu reported how the then senior special assistant on sustainable development goals (SSAP-SDGs) to the president, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire paid N147.1 million to an account traced to Enseno Global Ventures (Enseno GV), an Abuja-based restaurant, for the construction of classrooms.
The FIJ said it suspected the above report was the reason for his detention, hence, republished the investigation on Sunday.
Speaking to NewsNGR, the publisher FIJ, Fisayo Soyombo said the investigation was a representation of the facts and not mere allegations, based on the violation of the Cybercrime Act for which Ojukwu is being accused.
Soyombo also questioned the matter of his ‘arrest’, noting that no invitation was extended to the organisation, particularly on this matter.
He berated the Nigeria Police for its silence on the matter, insisting that its operatives had abducted and not arrested the journalist.