Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), has regained his freedom after spending 10 days in police custody.
Ojukwu’s disappearance on May 1 sparked concerns as his whereabouts remained unknown, with his phone numbers switched off.
Following his disappearance, FIJ initiated a missing person report at local police stations. However, it was a private detective hired by FIJ who tracked the last active location of Ojukwu’s phones to an address in Isheri Olofin, where it is believed he was initially picked up by the police.
Ojukwu’s family later discovered he was being detained at Panti, where authorities accused him of violating the 2015 Cybercrime Act.
Subsequently, he was relocated to various police facilities, including the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) in Abuja and the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID).
Despite stringent bail conditions set by the police, including involvement from FIJ’s lawyers and negotiators, Ojukwu’s release was only secured after civil society organizations protested at the Force Headquarters, pressuring for his freedom.
Abimbola Ojenike, Managing Partner of Slingstone LP, FIJ’s attorneys, condemned Ojukwu’s detention as a severe violation of human rights and an abuse of police powers against journalists.
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Ojenike stated, “Daniel Ojukwu’s case is one of the most egregious cases of human rights violation and misuse of the powers of the Police against journalists.
“This will not go unchallenged. There’s significant public interest in Daniel’s human rights enforcement action that goes beyond just this violation. The constitutional right to free speech is dead if journalists can no longer expose the malfeasance in government officials without fear or oppression,” she added.
