Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, who was abducted by the Inspector General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team, has been freed.
FIJ disclosed on its website that Ojukwu regained freedom on Friday after 10 days in police custody.
Ojukwu went missing on Wednesday, May 1, and his phone numbers were unreachable. His employers subsequently made a missing person report at the police stations around where he was reportedly heading.
However, a private detective hired by FIJ tracked the last active location of his phones to an address in Isheri Olofin, a suburb of Lagos. It is believed that is where the police accosted him.
Ojukwu’s family discovered that he was being held at Panti. The authorities accused him of a serious offence of violating the 2015 Cybercrime Act.
Meanwhile, on Sunday morning, he was taken to the Police Cybercrime Centre in Abuja, the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector General of Police where he was then put under stringent bail conditions.
However, On Thursday, a coalition of civil society organisations protested at the Force Headquarters, demanding Ojukwu’s release. This collective action forced the police to reconsider their stance, leading to his eventual release on Friday.
