Journalist Daniel Ojukwu, affiliated with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), has been released from police custody following intense pressure from civil society organizations.
Ojukwu, who had been abducted by the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector General of Police, regained his freedom after enduring 10 days in captivity.
The ordeal began on May 1 when Ojukwu went missing, prompting concern among colleagues, family, and friends as his phone numbers became unreachable. FIJ quickly initiated a missing person report with local police stations, while a hired detective tracked the last known location of his phones to an address in Isheri Olofin, believed to be where he was apprehended by the police.
Ojukwu’s family later discovered that he was detained at Panti, where authorities accused him of violating the 2015 Cybercrime Act. Subsequently, the Intelligence Response Team transferred him to the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre in Abuja.
FIJ, alongside legal representatives including SaharaReporters’ publisher Omoyele Sowore and Nigeria Union of Journalists FCT Correspondent’s Chapel chairman Jide Oyekunle, negotiated for Ojukwu’s release. However, the police imposed stringent bail conditions, prompting civil society organizations and journalists, such as Deji Adeyanju and Sowore, to stage a protest at the Force Headquarters in Abuja demanding Ojukwu’s immediate release.
The demonstrators carried banners with powerful messages such as ‘Free Daniel Ojukwu,’ ‘Journalism is not a crime,’ and ‘Stop the impunity,’ amplifying the urgency of the situation. Following the protests, the police began to reconsider their stance, ultimately leading to Ojukwu’s release on Friday.
Abimbola Ojenike, Managing Partner of Slingstone LP and FIJ’s attorneys, emphasized the severity of Ojukwu’s case as a violation of human rights and an abuse of police power against journalists. Ojenike highlighted the broader implications, stating, “The constitutional right to free speech is dead if journalists can no longer expose government malfeasance without fear or oppression.”
