Nigerians continue to demand the immediate release of Investigative Journalism Foundation journalist Daniel Ojukwu, who has been in police custody since May 1, 2024.
Ojukwu was abducted by members of the intelligence response team based on “orders from above.”
He was then reportedly taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Lagos, where he was charged with violating the Cyber Crimes Act 2015.
On Sunday, May 5, Ojukwu was transferred to the Nigeria Police National Cyber Crime Center in Abuja.
During this time, the Nigerian Police Force remained silent on the matter, but FIJ discovered that the reporter had been arrested for violating the Cybercrime Act 2015.
On Thursday, protesters, including some civil society organizations and concerned citizens, stormed military headquarters in Abuja to protest Ojukwu's continued detention.
One of the many defenders of the detained journalists was human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, who tweeted late Wednesday as @YeleSowore and posted a video of Ojukwu standing still in what appears to be an office.
Sowore writes: 3 days ago we met him at @PoliceNG detention site. They took him out of the cell with the promise that they would release him if we provided one surety.
“Yesterday, @police raided the home and office of a senior single guarantor of @UnionNuj.
“Once the 'verification' was completed, they flatly refused to release him to officials. I later learned that IGP Kayode Egbetokun was personally behind his detention. Because his publication @fijnigeria linked his IGP to powerful smugglers in southwestern Nigeria. @Princemoye1 #FreeDanielOjukwuNow.
Commenting below Mr Sowore's tweet, a tweeter calling himself Lagos Don, tweeting as @don_lagos89936, wrote: “The IGP has taken this matter personally.”
However, he came to the defense of the police chief, the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who reacted to Mr. Don’s tweet and warned that Mr. Egbetokun is innocent in the matter.
He added that the police team responsible for Mr Ojukwu's detention was led by a “competent” police commissioner who was “always ready to deliver justice”.
The tweet said, “The IGP has no hand in this matter. The team handling the FIJ case is headed by the Commissioner of Police, who is competent and always ready to deliver justice. The police are completely at fault in this case. He committed no crime. The law must stand. If Daniel Ojukwu posts a substantial surety today, he will be released on bail.”
Some X users expressed their thoughts on the issue and criticized the police for detaining the journalist for over 48 hours.
X user Callme_Wéalth tweeted as @Lexyzdoo and asked FPRO: What is your blueprint? ”
Another user, Colonel Afzal, tweeted as @Afzalgital and wrote, “When exposing a crime is treated as a crime, it's like being controlled by criminals.”
President Eniola Daniel tweeted as @UnlimitedEniola, saying, “Journalists are now their enemy. It's sad that we are still being victimized when we are not valued.”
In a telephone conversation with our correspondent on Thursday, Dr. Monday Ubani, a human rights lawyer and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja branch, Lagos state, raised eyebrows at Mr. Ojukwu’s prolonged detention, which lasted more than 48 hours, adding: “Mr. He argued it was wrong to suspend someone “indefinitely” because “that is not the purpose of prosecuting, preventing or litigating a crime.”
“If someone commits a crime (such as if it was committed in a civilized society), before you arraign him, do your homework on the investigation so you don't waste time when you bring him in. 'We need to bring that person to court,' Ubani said.
In October 2023, Mr. Ojukwu disclosed that the then Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Mr. Adejoke Orelope Adefurir, had obtained an account dating back to Enseno Global Ventures, an Abuja-based restaurant, for the construction of classrooms. reported on the circumstances in which they paid 147.1 million Norwegian.
The FIJ said it suspected the above report was the reason for his detention and therefore republished its findings on Sunday.
Fisayo Soyombo, founder and publisher of FIJ, said the investigation into cybercrime violations that Ojukwu is accused of is merely a statement of fact and not just an allegation. I continue to do that,” he said. behind the scenes,” he said, adding that the abduction was “troubling.”
