Activists to protest journalist’s detention in Abuja on Thursday

Protesters vowed to storm the Nigerian Police headquarters in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, on Thursday, over the prolonged detention of a Foundation for Investigative Journalism reporter, Daniel Ojukwu.

On Wednesday, flyers circulating on social media shared by activists, journalists and other Nigerians called on people to “join us in a peaceful protest at the Abuja Police Headquarters on Thursday at 9am.”

Former presidential candidate and editor of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, also shared the X flyer that had the reporter’s image, captioning it “The end of #CybercrimeAct2015Now. We will all be there tomorrow (Thursday) at 9 am.”

Human rights group Take It Back Movement also posted on X: “We will be here tomorrow at 9am, promptly! Join us. #FreeDanielOjukwu.”

The group’s coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, further confirmed to our correspondent in an interview: “We are gathering all our members to participate in the protest. “This is democracy and the police are not bigger than the law.”

A lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, also wrote on X: “The protest at the Force Headquarters will also be an opportunity to protest against the cybercrime tax.”

Ojukwu was arrested on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 by the police on the streets of Lagos and transferred to the National Cyber ​​Crime Center of the Nigerian Police Force in Abuja on Sunday.

Following the journalist’s kidnapping there has been widespread condemnation, even as the police maintain that a petition has been filed against the journalist but has not given details.

The president of the Nigerian Editors Guild, Eze Anaba, condemned the kidnapping of the journalist.

“The police cannot detain someone for seven days under any law in Nigeria at the moment,” he told The PUNCH on Tuesday.

The IJF reported on Monday that a senior Nigerian defender was behind the petition that led to Ojukwu’s abduction by police.

According to the media outlet, the petition is related to the IJF’s coverage of alleged financial mismanagement in the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.

In one of its investigative articles on the office, the FIJ reported how a sum of N147.1 million allegedly meant for the construction of classrooms and a skills acquisition center was allegedly sent to the account of a restaurant.

But in a statement posted on its X site on Monday, OSSAP-SDG denied the allegation, describing it as “false from the beginning.”

The statement said the office “has been transparent in its operations and project implementation processes” and noted that “therefore, the claim that our project was sponsored by a restaurant is false and unfounded.”

Cyber ​​Crime Center Director Uche Ifeanyi on Tuesday told The PUNCH that bail conditions had not been met for the detained journalist who spent seven days in custody.

“We have given them the documents on the bail conditions. I think the problem is that they have not been able to comply with the bail conditions. The person they brought in on Monday couldn’t even present an identification document. They brought in someone who is not an official on Tuesday. You know how delicate the case is. So once they bring in the measurement official, we will know,” he stated.

IJF founder Fisayo Soyombo said on Tuesday that it was “madness” to retain the journalist for so long. “I can’t believe this is happening in a democracy. The law is clear. If you believe that something false has been published against you, the process is established, you go to court and file a case. “You can’t just pick someone Gestapo-style and claim that he has a case to answer.”