CSOs to protest in Abuja as FIJ journalist spends 8th night in police custody

A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) will organise a protest on Thursday to demand the release of Daniel Ojukwu by the police.

Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), has been in police custody since May 1 after he was “abducted” in Lagos.

The family of the journalist and FIJ management were initially not aware of his whereabouts until 48 hours later, when they got a report that Ojukwu was detained at the state criminal investigation department in Panti.

The journalist was not allowed to communicate with his family members and friends as his mobile gadgets were seized.

On May 5, the journalist was moved from Lagos to the national cybercrime centre in Abuja.

Afterwards, it was discovered that Ojukwu was detained over a story on contract procurement by the office of the senior special assistant to the president on sustainable development goals (OSSAP-SDGs).

Many CSOs and well-meaning Nigerians, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, have called on the police to release the journalist.

Bukky Shonibare, chairperson of FIJ’s board of trustees, told TheCable on Wednesday that the journalist is still in detention, noting that the police gave stringent bail conditions.

The protest on Thursday will be the first by the CSOs since the journalist was picked up and detained by the police.

The CSOs are Gatefield, Invictus Africa, Enough is Enough Nigeria, Accountability Lab, Global Rights, Dataphyte, Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO), International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), among others.

Ojukwu will spend the eighth night in police custody today without a court order.