Ojukwu was secretly abducted by the police in Lagos on Wednesday, May 1 and transferred to Abuja about three days later.
Human rights advocate, Omoyele Sowore has disclosed that the police confirmed the credibility of the report done by Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) recently abducted and detained for a few days by the police.
Ojukwu was secretly abducted by the police in Lagos on Wednesday, May 1 and transferred to Abuja about three days later.
He was in detention from May 1 to May 5, before being given access to his phones.
Last Friday, May 10, SaharaReporters reported that Ojukwu had just regained his freedom.
Speaking on the developments when he appeared on a live programme on Nigeria Info FM 99.3 monitored by SaharaReporters, Sowore said the journalist was detained because of the Inspector General of Police’s interest in the matter.
Incidentally, SaharaReporters reported last Thursday that the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of operations, DIG Ayuba Ede, had revealed that the release of Ojukwu was at the discretion of the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun.
The DIG disclosed this on Thursday after a coalition of civil society groups under the aegis of Action Group for the Protection of Civic Actors and Sowore staged a protest at the Force Headquarters in Abuja to demand the release of the journalist.
On May 3, an investigator hired by FIJ found that Ojukwu’s phone had last been active in the Isheri Olofin neighborhood of Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State, and FIJ was informed that the journalist was being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Panti Street on allegations of violating the Cybercrimes Act, the FIJ reported and Ridwan Oke, a lawyer for the outlet, told CPJ.
Ojukwu was arrested over his November report, which alleged that Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to former President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals, paid 147 million naira (US$106,154) of government money for school construction into a restaurant’s bank account, according to the FIJ and its founder, Fisayo Soyombo.
Speaking on the radio programme, Sowore noted that the police investigated and found out that Ojukwu’s revelation in his report was true.
He said, “They (the police) found out in the course of their own investigation, that this guy, the FIJ guy, did a thorough investigation.
“They actually even applied for an FOI, Freedom of Information to get details of the facts. What happened was that this former SSA to Buhari awarded a contract under the SDG to a school that is not qualified – N140 million. It is not hidden. The police found that this was true.
“One of them confided in us that the report was spotless. But the IG has a private interest in the matter. That same outfit, FIJ, that wrote the story also wrote a report about the IG. He links the IG to the smuggler.
“The IG has been looking for a way to deal with them. So they found this as a very convenient way. The truth is that if they had anything against him, they would charge him within 48 hours. That is what the law says.”
Daniel Ojukwu: "If the police had anything against him, they would have charged him within 48 hours according to the law."
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore @YeleSowore, explained police IGP interest in him.
— Hon Shinayomi ShiNeNe 🥇 (@UncleShinelz) May 14, 2024