Activists, media stakeholders, and Nigerians have expressed outrage over the prolonged detention of Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) reporter Daniel Ojukwu.
According to reports, the Director of the Nigeria Police Force-National Cyber Crime Centre, Uche Ifeanyi, Tuesday, said the bail conditions for the detained journalist had not been met.
The journalist was reportedly detained following a petition related to FIJ’s coverage of alleged financial mismanagement in the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, OSSAP-SDGs , Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.
In one of its investigative pieces on the office, FIJ had reported how a sum of N147.1m reportedly meant for the building of classrooms and skills acquisition centre was allegedly sent to the account of a restaurant. But in an official statement on its X handle on Monday, the OSSAP-SDGs denied the allegations as “false”.
FIJ’s founder, Fisayo Soyombo, criticized the prolonged detention, calling it “insane”. He reiterated the need to follow due process, stating that false publications should be addressed through legal means.
