Tinubu, Fagbemi Urged To Free Detained Journalist, Ojukwu, Drop Charges Against FIJ Reporters
By Sunday Etuka
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to secure the release of Daniel Ojukwu, a reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), from the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
The group also asked the authorities to stop using criminal defamation and cyberstalking charges to intimidate and punish journalists for doing their jobs.
SERAP further urged the government to end the prosecution and harassment of Ojukwu and FIJ founder Fisayo Soyombo over their reports on the alleged spending of public funds by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs).
Ojukwu was reportedly remanded at Kuje on Tuesday by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, until 1 December 2026.
He had been arraigned on 12 counts of alleged cyberstalking and criminal defamation and pleaded not guilty to all of them.
The court adjourned hearing of his pending bail application until December.
SERAP said his detention sends a chilling message to journalists and others who seek to expose alleged corruption and scrutinise how public funds are managed.
The organisation noted that the prosecution stems from investigative reports published in 2023 and January 2024.
The reports questioned payments of ₦147.1 million and ₦47.5 million for classroom construction projects, and the reported failure of solar panels installed at some of the projects soon after completion.
SERAP described the issues as matters of legitimate public interest, insisting that public officials and institutions should expect scrutiny of their decisions and spending.
According to the group, the right response to such reporting is to offer explanations, disclose relevant records and, where necessary, investigate allegations of wrongdoing, rather than to prosecute and jail journalists.
The group described the remand as especially troubling because Ojukwu was previously detained for 10 days in May 2024 over reporting on the same public official and alleged spending of public funds.
SERAP warned that his continued prosecution risks creating a climate in which journalists are deterred from investigating corruption for fear of arrest, detention and imprisonment.
SERAP pointed out that freedom of expression and media freedom are guaranteed by sections 22 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a state party.
It said these protections cover the right to seek, receive and share information and ideas, including those that are critical, controversial or unwelcome to public officials.
The organisation added that this right carries particular weight when journalists report on alleged corruption, public spending and the conduct of people entrusted with public responsibilities, stressing that officials must tolerate robust scrutiny and criticism, especially on the use of public power and resources.
SERAP also cited paragraph 47 of General Comment No. 34 of the UN Human Rights Committee, which stresses that defamation laws must not be used to stifle free expression.
The Committee urges states to recognise truth and public interest as defences, avoid excessively punitive measures and consider decriminalising defamation.
