- By Halimah Olamide
t is not only irresponsible to arrest journalists for exposing the ills that abound in this government, it is also a breach of their constitutionally guaranteed #FreePress
Former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has described the detention of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism’s reporter, Daniel Ojukwu, as a breach of press freedom.
In a statement via his official X handle on Sunday, Atiku spoke on the issue which has sparked outrage.
According to him, the arrest came just 48 hours after a minister “boasted” that no journalist had been incarcerated under the current administration.
“Two days ago, on the occasion of the #WorldPressFreedomDay, a minister of this administration boasted that no journalist had been incarcerated by this administration,” Atiku said.
The former Vice President suggested a possible link of Ojukwu’s detention to his investigations, including a recent exposé on an alleged high-profile smuggler.
“The arrest of Ojukwu may not be unconnected with the groundbreaking investigative works of the independent Foundation for Investigative Journalism that has exposed alleged high profile smuggler with links to top officials of this administration,” he added.
He also recalled the arrests and detentions of Segun Olatunji of FirstNews Newspaper and Chinonso Uba, also known as Nonso Ukwa of Oziza FM Radio, criticising the government’s growing trend of press suppression.
“It is not only irresponsible to arrest journalists for exposing the ills that abound in this government, it is also a breach of their constitutionally guaranteed #FreePress.
“That the arrest of Ojukwu came barely 48 hours after the observance of the World Press Freedom Day, speaks volumes of the character of the Tinubu administration to freedom of the press.
“The least that is expected of the relevant authorities is to #FreeOjukwu,” he stated.
Recall that Ojukwu disappeared on May 1, and his phone was unreachable, leaving his colleagues, family, and friends in the dark about his whereabouts.
Subsequently, Ojukwu’s family found that he was detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Lagos State, where he was reportedly accused of violating the 2015 Cybercrime Act.