Media
By Anthony Isibor
DANIEL Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, FIJ, who was reportedly abducted by the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, has spent his third night in detention.
According to reports, Ojukwu had gone missing on Wednesday, May 1, his numbers switched off and his whereabouts to both colleagues, family and friends.
FIJ said it had made a missing person report at police stations in the area where Ojukwu was headed on Thursday, while a private detective was contracted to investigate the matter.
However, on Friday, the private detective tracked the last active location of his phones to an address in Isheri Olofin, a location FIJ now believes was where the police originally picked him up.
FIJ also said that Ojukwu’s family had revealed that he was detained at Panti, where they were made to understand the authorities are accusing him of violating the 2015 Cybercrime Act.
A relative, who visited him told FIJ that the authorities declined to provide contact details of the Investigating Police Officer, IPO, on jurisdictional grounds as the case was beyond Lagos.
“The arresting officers are part of the IG Monitoring Team. They said when they are done with arresting the other people on their watchlist in Lagos, they would transfer him and others to Abuja.”
The newspaper claimed that the journalist is being held for the alleged violation of the 2015 Cybercrime Act.
Fisayo Soyombo, the FIJ founder, said that Ojukwu might have been arrested over a certain investigative story he reported in November 2023.
Ojukwu in that report revealed that the office of the senior special assistant to the President on sustainable development goals (OSSAP-SDGs) awarded a contract for the construction of one skill acquisition centre and one block of six classrooms at Ajeromi Primary School in Lagos at the cost of N147 million.
According to the report, the fund for the contract was paid into the “account of a restaurant,” while the project was not situated in its designated location.
The report revealed that the skill acquisition centre was constructed in Ladi-Lak Nursery and Primary School on No. 2, Randle Road, Apapa, and the block of six classrooms in Metropolitan Nursery and Primary School, Adekunle Deen Street, Off Mile 2-Ijora Expressway, Ijora.
“It is now the third day since the police have been holding Ojukwu incommunicado, denying access to legal representation,” the FIJ said.
A.I
Tags: Daniel Ojukwu
