Police in Kwara have on Monday detained the Editor-in-Chief of the Informant247 Salihu Ayatullahi and Adisa-Jaji Azeez, the Managing Editor. The police invited the two investigative journalists on Monday which they honored but detained on arrival.
WikkiTimes understand that the detention was on the request of the Rector of Kwara State Polytechnic, Engr. Abdul Jimoh Muhammed.
Salihu Ayatullahi and Adisa-Jaji Azeez got the invitation around 2:30 PM on Tuesday, February 6, 2024.
The police detained the two journalists in connection with an investigative story published by The Informant247 on February 2, 2024, alleging that the Kwara Polytechnic Rector made false claims about the institution’s financial status and commissioned shoddy, uncompleted projects.
Trolling, Cyberattacks, Threats… The Cost of Our Journalism at WikkiTimes
The chief editor and managing editor of The Informant247 have approached the Federal High Court seeking protection of their fundamental human rights to press freedom and liberty.
Meanwhile, an advance copy of the process marked as Case No. FHC/IL/C5/14/2024 has been served on the Nigerian Police Kwara State Command.
The Commissioner of Police Kwara State, CP Victor Olaiya, Officer in Charge of Anti-Kidnapping Section, and Rector of Kwara State Polytechnic Ilorin are the first, second, and third respondents respectively in the mentioned case.
In recent times, Nigeria has witnessed a series of incidents involving the arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists. Reports from organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) highlight a troubling pattern of attempts to stifle media freedom and intimidate members of the press.
In one of the most recent cases, the police released jtwo ournalists, Abdulrasheed Akogun and Dare Akogun, after spending a week in detention due to their critical posts on social media, drawing attention from international rights groups and prompting calls for the dismissal of all charges against them. Similarly, journalist Achadu Gabriel Idibia found himself under arrest over a report in the state of Kaduna, with MFWA condemning the action and demanding his immediate release.
During Nigeria’s presidential and federal elections, at least 14 journalists faced detentions, attacks, or harassements, as reported by the CPJ. This included the detention of WikkiTimes Publisher Haruna Mohammed Salisu, underscoring the risks faced by media workers covering politically sensitive events.
A comprehensive report by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) revealed that approximately 160 journalists encountered various form of attacka in Nigeria in just two years, as tracked through the Press Attack Tracker. The Punch Newspapers further detailed that in 2022 alone, 66 Nigerian journalists and three media houses faced various forms of attack, including harassment and unlawful arrest.
These incidents have raised alarms among press freedom advocates, who argue that such actions not only violate the rights of individual journalists but also undermine the fundamental principles of democracy by restricting the free flow of information and silencing critical voices.
As the international community watches, calls for the Nigerian government to uphold press freedom and protect journalists from harassment and unjust detention grow louder.
