THE Management of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) has said the media outlet would explore all legal means to seek justice for its reporter, Daniel Ojukwu, who was abducted and detained for ten days by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
This was contained in a press statement released after Ojukwu regained his freedom on Friday, May 10.
“We are taking advice from our lawyers and will explore all legally permissible means to seek justice for Daniel Ojukwu and prevent a recurrence of such blatant abuse of power and attack on press freedom,” chairman, FIJ’s Board of Trustees, Bukky Shonibare, disclosed in the statement.
The statement also conveyed FIJ’s gratitude to media partners, civil society organisations (CSOs), activists and others involved in the call for Ojukwu’s release.
“We note the significant effect of the media pressure and, more importantly, Thursday’s protests by civic actors in modifying what had been a deliberate misuse of state power by the police.
“Saddening and primitive as they are, moments like this are a refreshing reminder of the potency of a united public to hold power to account,” it further read.
Ojukwu was released on Friday, after being abducted by officials of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun on Wednesday, May 1, two days before World Press Freedom Day.
His abduction only became known on Friday, May 3, after spending four days with the police in Lagos State. He was subsequently transferred to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja.
He was transferred by the IRT to the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) in Abuja in the early hours of Sunday, May 5.
On Thursday, May 9, CSOs, journalists and well-meaning Nigerians gathered at the Police Headquarters in protest against his continued detention.
The protesters who marched and chanted various solidarity songs also voiced their discontent over the growing cases of attacks on press freedom and the flagrant abuse of due process and the rule of law by the Nigeria Police under Egbetokun.
Addressing the protesters, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, called for calm and promised that the journalist would be released.
Attacks and unlawful detention of journalists have remained a threat to press freedom in Nigeria.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.