Daniel Ojukwu, a reporter for the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), has been released from police custody after spending 10 days in detention.
Ojukwu’s ordeal began on May 1st when he went missing, with his phone switched off and his whereabouts unknown to colleagues, family, and friends.
FIJ swiftly took action, filing a missing person report at police stations where Ojukwu was last known to be heading.
Despite these efforts, a private detective hired by FIJ tracked the last active location of Ojukwu’s phone to an address in Isheri Olofin. This location is now believed to be where the police initially apprehended him.
Subsequently, Ojukwu’s family learned of his detention at Panti, where authorities accused him of violating the 2015 Cybercrime Act.
According to FIJ, on Sunday, he was relocated by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector General of Police to the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) in Abuja. Later, he was moved to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in what was believed to be an attempt to break his resolve.
FIJ’s legal team, Jide Oyekunle, and Bukky Shonibare, and Omoyele Sowore, faced stringent bail conditions set by the police.
However, after CSO’s protest to the Force Headquarters on Thursday to demand his release, the presure led to the release of Ojukwu today (Friday).
Recall the police had on Sunday showed a petition, that his abduction is in connection to FIJ’s story on how Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the then senior special assistant on sustainable development goals (SSAP-SDGs) to the president, paid N147.1 million to an account traced to Enseno Global Ventures (Enseno GV), an Abuja-based restaurant.
Abimbola Ojenike, Managing Partner of Slingstone LP and FIJ’s attorneys, condemned Ojukwu’s treatment, labeling it as one of the most egregious cases of human rights violations and misuse of police powers against journalists.
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