Human rights organisations, Amnesty International Nigeria and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), have condemned the detention of a Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) reporter, Daniel Ojukwu, and called for his immediate release.
The organisations also want the Federal Government to stop the prosecution of Ojukwu and FIJ founder, Fisayo Soyombo, over investigative reports questioning the spending of the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs).
Ojukwu was remanded at the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja on Tuesday after pleading not guilty to 12 counts of cyberstalking and criminal defamation filed against him.
Naija News reports that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered that the journalist remain in custody until December 1, when his bail application will be heard.
Reacting to the development, Amnesty International, in a statement shared on Facebook on Wednesday, said the prosecution raised serious concerns about the treatment of journalists who investigate corruption and hold public officials accountable.
The organisation warned that the continued detention and prosecution of Ojukwu appeared to be part of a wider attempt to use the criminal justice system to punish journalists for their reports.
“The continued prosecution and detention of Ojukwu appear to be part of a broader pattern of using the criminal justice system to punish journalists for exposing allegations of corruption and holding public officials accountable,” it said.
Similarly, SERAP called on President Bola Tinubu and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to secure Ojukwu’s release and end the use of cyberstalking and criminal defamation charges against journalists over their professional work.
SERAP said the case was connected to four FIJ reports published between November 2023 and January 2024, which questioned payments of N147.1 million and N47.5 million for classroom construction projects.
One of the reports raised questions about a ₦147.1 million payment allegedly made by the SDGs office to a restaurant for classroom construction in Lagos.
Another report examined a ₦47.5 million contract awarded to Tru3 Nigeria Limited and questioned the company’s status, as well as its failure to move to the project site.
The organisation also pointed to reports about solar panels that reportedly stopped working in classroom blocks barely one week after installation.
Another investigation examined the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) forfeiture of N241 million linked to the SDGs office.
SERAP maintained that the allegations raised in the reports should be addressed by the relevant authorities instead of prosecuting the journalists who brought them to public attention.
“The proper response to investigative reporting that raises questions about public expenditure is to provide explanations, disclose relevant records and, where necessary, investigate allegations of wrongdoing, not to subject journalists to criminal prosecution and imprisonment,” it said.
The Nigeria Police Force filed the 12-count charge against Ojukwu and Soyombo over the four reports concerning Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, who served as Senior Special Assistant to former President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals and was also a former deputy governor of Lagos State.
The police accused the two journalists of conspiring to commit cyberstalking and criminal defamation through their publications.
During Tuesday’s court proceedings, Ojukwu pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges, after which the prosecution counsel, Kunle Lawal, asked the court to remand him in custody.
However, his lawyer, Atanda Kayode, opposed the request and urged the court to allow his client to remain on the administrative bail earlier granted by the police.
Kayode told the court that Ojukwu had not violated any of the conditions attached to the bail.
Justice Abdulmalik, however, rejected the request, explaining that the bail application was not ready for hearing. She subsequently ordered that the journalist be taken to Kuje Custodial Centre pending the December 1 hearing.
The prosecution also informed the court that Soyombo was at large and requested a bench warrant for his arrest.
The judge declined the request, stating that the FIJ founder had not been brought before her.
