THE Nigeria Police Force on Friday, May 10, said it would arraign Daniel Ojukwu, a reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) before a Federal High Court.
A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, claimed that Ojukwu’s arrest and arbitrary detention were justifiable under the law.
Ojukwu was arrested by the police in Lagos on May 1 by officials of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun.
He was subsequently moved to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja, after spending four days in police custody in Lagos State.
He was detained for 10 days before he was released on Friday, May 10.
The ICIR reported that his release followed the protest of civil society organisations and journalists, demanding his release at the Force Headquarters on Thursday, May 9.
However, Adejobi, in a statement said the reporter had a case to answer in the court of law.
The statement was titled, “FIJ’S Case: Ojukwu’s arrest, investigation justifiable under the law – FPRO. He has a case to answer.”
According to him, he was lawfully apprehended and detained pursuant to a remand warrant issued by a competent court of justice on May 2, a day after his arrest.
The ICIR reports that while the police claimed it secured a court’s remand warrant on the journalist on May 2, his arrest only became known on Friday, May 3, after his family, employers and colleagues had been looking for him.
Ojukwu was initially held at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, in Lagos, and was denied access to legal representation.
“Mr. Ojukwu was lawfully apprehended and detained pursuant to a valid remand warrant issued by a competent court of justice on May 2, 2024. His initial detention in Lagos and subsequent transfer to Abuja by the FCID-National Cybercrime Centre aligns with standard investigative procedures undertaken by police,” Adejobi said in his statement.
The FPRO further conceded that Ojukwu’s abduction was in connection with his story concerning financial transactions and contract execution.
He noted that his detention was linked to allegations of violating provisions of the Cybercrime Act and other extant laws about cyber-related crimes.
The ICIR reported that Ojukwu, in his investigation, revealed how Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, former senior special assistant on sustainable development goals (SSAP-SDGs) to former President Muhammadu Buhari, paid N147.1 million to an account traced to Enseno Global Ventures (Enseno GV), an Abuja-based restaurant, for constructing a classroom.
“These allegations stem from a report concerning financial transactions and contract execution upon which he was petitioned to the Nigeria Police for investigations.
“With our preliminary forensic investigation and recovery of some contents generated by the suspect, Mr Ojukwu has a case to answer and as such will be arraigned in court upon conclusion of investigations,” the statement read.
Adejobi further said that the police did not deny Ojukwu bail, adding that his release was predicated on him meeting the conditions set for the bail.
This was, however, in contrast with the claim made by Ojukwu’s legal representatives and negotiators, led by Omoyele Sowore, who noted that the police changed the bail conditions after initially confirming the properties of the sureties.
They also said the police later imposed stringent bail conditions on the reporter.
While Adejobi stated that the journalist’s freedom from police detention would be followed by the commencement of his prosecution at the Federal High Court, he added that his release had no correlation with the “unwarranted protest” held at the police headquarters on Thursday, May 9.
“He has, however, been released upon providing a reliable surety today Friday, May 10, 2024, pending the commencement of prosecution at the Federal High Court which has jurisdiction over cyber-related crimes.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M