Gbenga Oloniniran writes about the shrinking media space caused by increasing harassment and intimidation of the press and journalists by state authorities
The press is considered a major pillar of democracy, but the fourth estate of the realm in Nigeria seems to be operating within a shrinking space given the recent increase in intimidation of journalists, including their editors and media houses.
In the early hours of Thursday, the editor of FirstNews, Segun Olatunji, breathed a sigh of relief after his release from the custody of military officers who abducted him from his Lagos home in Abule Egba on March 15, 2024.
The gun-toting men grabbed his mobile phone and dragged him out of the house as his wife Oluwatosin desperately pleaded with them, asking what her husband’s offence was and where they were taking him.
Olatunji, a former Kaduna State correspondent of The According, was forcefully bundled into a van parked outside the house situated in Iyana Odo and whisked away.
Abducted for weeks, tied
The International Press Institute, Nigeria, traced Olatunji, who had been abducted for about two weeks, to the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency.
The DIA is an agency under the command of Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye, who, in turn, reports to the Chief of Defence Staff.
The military authorities, on Thursday, yielded to pressure and released Olatunji. He was released to some media stakeholders, including Yomi Odunuga of The Nation Newspaper and Iyobosa Uwugiaren of Thisday Newspaper in Abuja after sustained pressure from the media.
Before his release, the IPI, the Nigeria Guild of Editors, and Olatunji’s employers had, in separate statements, faulted his incarceration, asking authorities to either release the editor or charge him to court.
Olatunji’s colleagues linked the journalist’s abduction to a story published by FirstNews titled, “Revealed: Defence Chief running office like family business – Public Interest Lawyers.”
While recounting his ordeal from the point he was abducted, Olatunji on Thursday said he was tied for three days.
He said, “Someone came claiming to be from the military. He identified himself as Colonel Lawal. Immediately, he seized my phones.
“I went to the room to dress up. By the time I got downstairs, I saw soldiers inside the compound taking positions. Outside the gate, I saw about three vehicles with Air Force personnel, Army, Defence Intelligence Agency, and others all fully armed.
“I was handcuffed and taken straight to the office of the National Air Defence Corps where we waited for three hours. I did not know that they were waiting for an aircraft to pick me up and take to Abuja.
“I was blindfolded and moved to the aircraft, and we landed in Abuja shortly. I was leg-cuffed also. They removed my clothes and I was left with my boxers. I was taken to Cell 9.
“There, I was left with leg and handcuffs. And at a point, one of the officers came and tightened the right leg and the right hand, and I was there groaning in pain. They did not loosen it until about two or three days later.
“Up till now, I could still feel the pains in my hands and legs.”
Threat to kill
Addressing a press conference at the secretariat of the FCT Council of NUJ, Utako, Abuja, the Secretary, NGE, Iyobosa Uwugiaren, said, “On Monday, IPI Nigeria was able to determine (without doubt) that the journalist was being detained and tortured by the Defence Intelligence Agency in Abuja. The IPI then informed the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Undiandeye, of its finding and asked them to release our colleague immediately.
“We also provided that information to top government officials who also reached out to Generals Musa and Undiandeye. Again, they lied that the journalist was not in their custody. Yet our sources were telling us we needed to act fast to save our colleague from being killed.”
I lost weight, looked sick – Olatunji’s wife
Olatunji’s wife, Mrs Oluwatosin, while speaking with our correspondent on Thursday, confirmed the release of her husband. Saying she had yet to meet him physically, she confirmed speaking with him on the phone and also lamented how the ordeal had taken a toll on her physical appearance.
Oluwatosin said, “I feel happy. God answered our prayers. I’m grateful to everybody who put efforts to make sure he was released. I’ve not met him but I already spoke with him this morning.” Speaking on how the situation had been for the family, she added, “It was like hell, it’s not easy. My weight, my appearance, everything went down drastically. Everyone that saw me asked if I was sick.”
Police invite FIJ chair
The Nigeria Police Force this week summoned the chairman, Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Bukky Shonibare, to Abuja to answer questions about cybercrime.
The invitation, sent by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre was dated Thursday, March 21.
Shonibare, according to FIJ, honoured the invitation by the police on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as determined by the police.
“This Centre [sic] is investigating a case in which the need to obtain some clarifications from the Foundation for Investigative Journalism and Social Justice has become imperative. In furtherance of the Police Investigation [sic] and in observance of the principle of fair hearing, you are invited to interview the Director of the Centre [sic] through the undersigned,” the letter shared by FIJ and signed by DCP Ahmed Usman, read.
The organisation on X via @fijnigeria on Tuesday said “FIJ believes the invitation is in relation to its five-week-long investigative focus on smuggling and the Nigeria Customs Service.”
Details of the interview are still unknown. The FIJ promised to give the details later. The spokesperson for the NPF, Muyiwa Adejobi, has not responded to inquiries from our correspondent over the invitation. Calls and texts made to him on Thursday were not responded to.
Also, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Maiwada, did not take his calls on Thursday and a text sent to him seeking if the service petitioned the police over FIJ’s report was not responded to as of the time of filing this report.
FIJ’s report by its journalist, Fisayo Soyombo, in February, focused on the porosity of Nigeria’s borders, detailing how the journalist imported 100 bags of rice from the Republic of Benin into Nigeria allegedly with the aid of some Customs officers.
Harassment during elections
At least 28 members of the press were obstructed, harassed, or attacked while covering governorship and state assembly elections across the country on March 18 and 19, according to news reports and journalists who spoke with the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“Nigerian authorities should swiftly identify and hold accountable those responsible for the recent attacks, harassment, and intimidation of journalists covering state elections and ensure that members of the press feel safe to report on political issues,” said CPJ’s Africa programme coordinator, Angela Quintal in March 2023.
A journalist with The According, Gbenga Oloniniran, was also arrested by a team of policemen near the residence of the then Governor Nyesom Wike in Rumuiprikon, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state during the February presidential election.
Oloniniran, who was on election duty was taking snapshots of a scene where policemen were arresting some youths at a polling unit when the operative swooped on him. Without listening to him, the operatives attached to the Swift Operation Squad seized his phone, assaulted him and bundled him into their van.
Tinubu must act – IPC
The Director, International Press Centre, while condemning the abduction of Olatunji and intimidation of the press, urged President Bola Tinubu to act against the menace.
Arogundade in an interview with The According said, “It’s a very worrisome development. It’s not warranted in a democracy. For the army – the army is a noble institution as it should be. When you’re aggrieved over the conduct of a journalist, the next thing you should do is to avail yourself of redress under duly constituted authority. We have regulatory bodies controlled by the government. The army could report to them. They could also report to institutions that the media has put together. We don’t know why he (Olatunji) was being held, but if it is based on alleged misconduct in the course of his duty, maybe by way of publication or whatever, those (procedures listed above) are the appropriate things to do.
“The Nigerian Army should not behave as if they’re above the law and the president should not fold his arm and just let them do anything because it portends great danger for the media and the image of the country.”
Threat to democracy – CDHR
The National Secretary, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Gerald Katchy, described the menace as a threat to democracy.
He said, “The issue of journalists harassment is an issue that has been on for a long time. About a year or two years ago, we all saw how the National Broadcasting Commission and other bodies in charge of checks and balances with regards to reporting, instead of doing a fair job, decided to be on the side of the government and be harassing any media that reported anything that is anti-government. Press harassment is a threat to our democracy. It’s a threat to our collective existence. The worst of it is the military arresting a journalist. Where is it done? Are we in a military dictatorship? The highest they can do if they sense any foul or wrongdoing by any press – there are proper bodies like the NUJ or even the police. I use the opportunity to call on the rank and file in the military to sit up.”
Also, the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned harassment of journalists in Nigeria.
CPJ Africa Programme Head Angela Quintal in New York, in a publication on March 21 said, “Olatunji’s arrest by armed men identifying themselves as officers with the Nigerian army is totally unacceptable. Nigerian authorities must ensure his safety and swiftly clarify the reasons for his detention.”
“The seizure of journalists from their homes is behaviour reminiscent of an era in Nigerian history when the military ran the country and has no place in a modern democracy,” Angela added.
