WHILE many Nigerian journalists joined the rest of the world in advocating press freedom on World Press Freedom Day, commemorated on Friday, May 3, Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), languished in police detention over allegations of cybercrime.
Ojukwu was abducted by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector-General of Police on Wednesday, May 1, but his abduction became known on Friday, coinciding with World Press Freedom Day.
According to a report by FIJ, he is currently being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, in Lagos, and has been denied access to legal representation.
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The FIJ stated that upon discovering his unknown destination and finding his phone switched off, it initially filed a missing person report at police stations in the area where Ojukwu was believed to have been headed on Thursday, May 2.
On Friday, May 3, the media platform subsequently hired a private detective to track the last active location of his phones, which was traced to an address in Isheri Olofin, a location FIJ now believes was where the police originally picked him up.
The reporter’s family later learned about his detention at Panti, where they were informed that the authorities were accusing him of violating the 2015 Cybercrime Act.
According to a family member who visited the station, the authorities refused to provide contact details for the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) due to jurisdictional issues, as the case extended beyond Lagos.
“The arresting officers are part of the IG Monitoring Team. They said when they are done arresting the other people on their watchlist in Lagos, they would transfer him and others to Abuja,” FIJ quoted the family member to have said.
Since the incident, Ojukwu has been denied access to legal representation.
Although the police have remained silent on Ojukwu’s arrest, FIJ said the arrest might not be unconnected to a story about Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the former senior special assistant on sustainable development goals (SSAP-SDGs) to the President.
The story detailed a payment of N147.1 million to an account linked to Enseno Global Ventures, an Abuja-based restaurant, supposedly to construct a classroom.
Setback on World Press Day
The attack, which has generated widespread condemnation from journalists and concerned Nigerians, was deemed a significant setback in the ongoing battle against impunity and harassment of media professionals in Nigeria.
Earlier on Friday, The ICIR reported how the latest data on the 2024 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) placed Nigeria as one of West Africa’s most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists.
This followed Nigeria’s placement at 112th out of 180 countries in terms of journalists being regularly monitored, attacked, and arbitrarily arrested.
According to RSF, “The level of governmental interference in the news media in Nigeria is significant. It can involve pressure, harassment of journalists and media outlets, and even censorship. This interference is even stronger during electoral campaigns. Addressing political issues in a balanced way can also be difficult, depending on the media outlet’s owner. To a large extent, government officials have a say in the appointment and dismissal of media officials, whether in the public or private sector.”
Nigerian laws fail to protect journalists
While Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) mandates the media to ensure the government’s accountability to the people through reporting, other laws passed by the Nigerian government have failed to make that possible.
The laws fail to protect journalists carrying out this responsibility and are often deployed as tools to suppress the free press.
For instance, the Cybercrimes Act, established to prohibit cybercrime in Nigeria, has been weaponised against online journalists in some instances despite their constitutional mandate to fulfil watchdog responsibilities.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice also declared the section inconsistent with Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
Although President Bola Tinubu has amended the Act, there are still concerns that it can stifle freedom of expression.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M