Renowned journalist, Oseni Rufai, has criticized the Nigerian government for its ongoing crackdown on investigative journalists.
He argues that detaining journalists without charges reveals the government’s hypocrisy, as they claim to uphold the law while attacking those who speak the truth.
According to Rufai, journalists are to be charged in court within 24 hours if there are any legitimate accusations, instead of being held against their rights of a lawful society.
Rufai stated this on in X handle amid the recent arrest and detaining of journalist by security agencies in Nigeria.
He wrote, “This unnecessary target on investigative journalists in Nigeria is an indication that we have a state that now attacks those that tell the truth.”
“You cannot continue to keep journalists in your GULAG, charge them to court if you have anything against them in 24 hours, when you keep journalists against their rights and you say we live in a lawful society is a clear representation of hypocrisy,” he added.
Recently, Nigeria has witnessed an alarming crackdown on investigative journalists, with several being detained without charges.
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Department of State Security Service detained a Nigerian journalist, Adejuwon Soyinka, who is the West African Regional Editor. Soyinka, a former pioneer editor of the BBC Pidgin Service, was detained by DSS operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos upon his arrival from the United Kingdom via a Virgin Atlantic flight. No reason was given for his detention by the security agency.
Also, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) subjected Isaac Bristol, a microblogger and leak journalist known popularly as @PIDOMNigeria, to inhuman treatment after arresting him on August 5.
Reports have it that the National Cybercrime Center (NCCC) tracked and abducted him from a location in Nigeria’s southeast.
This wave of repression has sparked widespread concern, as it appears to be a direct attack on those who seek to expose the truth and hold power accountable.
The government’s actions have drawn criticism for undermining press freedom and violating the rights of journalists, with many seeing this as an attempt to silence critical voices and suppress the flow of information.
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