Police say detained journalist, Daniel Ojukwu will be released soon
The Federal Capital Territory, FCT Police Commissioner, Ben Igweh, has assured that the detained reporter with Foundation for Investigative Journalism,FIJ, Daniel Ojukwu would soon be released from detention.
The commissioner disclosed this while addressing protesters at the entrance of the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
He said the Force Management Team has looked into Ojukwu’s matter and resolved that he be released.
Igweh, however, was evasive of the date for the release of the detained journalist.
The CP, however, warned journalists to be wary of what they write and say so as not to fall into the wrong arm of the law.
The Action Group on the Protection of Civic Actors, a Nigerian coalition of media and civil society groups, protested the continued detention of Ojukwu, calling for his freedom.
Ojukwu went missing on May 1 in Lagos. But it was later found out that he was detained and held in a police station for allegedly violating the country’s Cybercrime Act, often criticized as a tool for censorship.
The arrest of Ojukwu, who was later transferred to the Nigerian capital of Abuja, followed his report about alleged financial mismanagement of over N147 million ($104,600) involving a senior government official, according to his employer.
His continued detention has elicited calls for his freedom. On Thursday, the coalition stormed the Force Headquarters in Abuja to press for Ojukwu’s release.
While addressing journalists, the spokesperson of the group, Bukky Shonibare, said the recent surge in attacks on press freedom and the silencing of dissenting voices is becoming alarming.
