The Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) has refused to release Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) it abducted last Wednesday.
Ojukwu’s lawyer, Abimbola Ojenike, told Channels Television Tuesday that the journalist was taken by the policemen on Wednesday, May 1, hours before this year’s Press Freedom Day.
“We observed that Daniel Ojukwu was missing and his numbers were deactivated. A subsequent private investigation revealed that he was, based on the phone signals, found somewhere around Isheri Olofin. Nobody knew his whereabouts from then.
“Subsequent information revealed that he was at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Lagos, and his mother found him there. No explanation was given as to the details of his arrest and he was not granted bail,” the lawyer said.
Ojenike said the order on which Ojukwu was ‘abducted’ came from the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.
Revealing further, Ojenike said the journalist was denied access to his counsel and afterwards relocated to the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja.
The President of Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI Nigeria), Musikilu Mojeed, and Tobi Soniyi, Legal Adviser/Chair, Advocacy Committee, IPI Nigeria, had kicked against the action of police authorities.
“IPI NIGERIA strongly condemns the abduction and calls on the Inspector General of Police to, with immediate effect, order the release of Mr Ojukwu.
“Coming at about the period the world is celebrating the freedom of the press, the action of the Nigeria Police Force speaks volumes of the attitude and commitment of law enforcement agencies in Nigeria to the freedom of the press.
“Some weeks ago, the Nigerian military abducted a journalist, Mr Segun Olatunji, in a gestapo manner in Lagos and flew him to Abuja under humiliating conditions in apparent violation of his rights to dignity and expression,” he said.
Similarly, ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) also condemned the arrest of Mr Ojukwu.
The AAN’s Country Director, Mr Andrew Mamedu, in a statement, on Sunday, said the flagrant act violates the fundamental rights of journalists to freely exercise their profession and constitutes an affront to democracy and press freedom in Nigeria.
“The Nigerian Police Force must immediately provide clarity on the circumstances surrounding Daniel Ojukwu’s detention. We demand transparency, accountability, and respect for the rule of law in this matter,” Mamedu said.
