The International Press Institute Nigeria and the Committee to Protect Journalists have demanded the immediate release of Stanley Ugagbe, a journalist with Secret Reporters, following reports that he was taken into custody after the platform published an investigative report.
IPI Nigeria said in a statement jointly signed by its Secretary, Ahmed I. Shekarau, and its Legal Adviser and Chair of the Advocacy Committee, Tobi Soniyi, that it received the report of Ugagbe detention with deep concern.
The organization said available reports indicated that four unidentified men took the journalist from his Abuja residence on Wednesday.
The Publisher and Editor in Chief of Secret Reporters, Fejiro Oliver, alleged that officers of the Nigeria Police Force carried out the operation while Ugagbe was returning from an official training program.
Oliver said the operatives took the journalist to his home in Jikwoyi, seized his official laptop and phone, and then took him to an unknown location.
He added that lawyers and colleagues searched the former SARS facility, the FCT Police Command, Force Headquarters, and police stations in Jikwoyi and Karu without finding any record of the arrest or the journalist whereabouts.
IPI Nigeria condemned what it described as the unlawful arrest and incommunicado detention of the journalist, saying he had reportedly been denied access to his family, lawyers and employer.
The group said the continued criminalization of legitimate journalism weakens press freedom, damages the rule of law and undermines Nigeria democratic credentials.
It called on President Bola Tinubu to direct the relevant security agencies to produce Ugagbe immediately, disclose the legal basis for his arrest, grant him access to lawyers and family, and either charge him before a competent court if there is credible evidence of an offence or release him without delay.
IPI Nigeria said prolonged detention without lawful justification violates the constitutional rights of any accused person and warned against the growing use of security agencies to intimidate journalists over their professional work.
The organization said individuals or institutions who believe they have been harmed by a publication should seek redress through the courts instead of resorting to arrest and intimidation.
It also urged the Inspector General of Police and other security chiefs to ensure that officers respect the rule of law and avoid intervening in matters that are civil in nature.
The Director of CPJ Africa, Angela Quintal, also called on the federal government to disclose Ugagbe location, ensure access to his family and lawyer if he is being held, or release him if there is no lawful basis for his detention
