CPJ Urges Halt to Harassment of Journalists Amid Recent Detentions, Summons
Crime/Social Justice
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Nigerian security agencies to cease targeting journalists, citing the recent detention of videographer Zainab Sodiq, the secret arrest and restrictive bail terms imposed on investigative reporter Stanley Ugagbe, and an espionage-related summons issued to publisher Fejiro Oliver (also known as Tega Oghenedoro).
“Is it outrageous that journalist Zainab Sodiq has been jailed by intelligence agents and has seemingly been denied due process? It is also utterly punitive for Stanley Ugagbe to spend hours every other day needlessly reporting to the police,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa Director. “Nigeria’s security services must focus their time and resources on the real criminals and not journalists who are keeping the public informed.”
On July 8, agents from the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria’s secret police, detained Sodiq, a journalist and videographer who covers the activities of Omoyele Sowore, founder of Sahara Reporters and a presidential candidate in upcoming elections.
According to a DSS press release issued on July 9, Sodiq was intercepted on July 6 at a Lagos airport while attempting to board a flight to Abuja carrying a drone without the required End User Certificate. She was allowed to proceed with her travel but ordered to report to DSS offices on July 8, where she was taken into custody upon arrival.
Sowore stated that he informed the DSS he owned the drone and believes Sodiq’s detention is linked to her reporting on his events and his ongoing trial on cybercrime and defamation charges. He also referenced her secret recording on June 22 of DSS officials allegedly physically harassing him inside a federal high court in Abuja.
Nigeria’s constitution (Section 35(4)) generally requires that arrested persons be brought before a court within 48 hours, raising concerns about due process in Sodiq’s case.
Separately, Secret Reporters journalist Stanley Ugagbe was released on July 6 from the National Cybercrime Centre in Abuja after a secret detention that began on July 1. Police had initially denied holding him.
Ugagbe was released on bail without formal charges but must report to the cybercrime center every two days while authorities continue investigating and examining his phone and laptop.
He described being abducted on July 1 by armed men from a public taxi near his home, taken to his residence to retrieve his laptop, then blindfolded and handcuffed.
He spent the night in an unidentified police facility, chained by the leg to a chair while sleeping on the floor, before being transferred blindfolded to the cybercrime center on July 2. He developed a rash on his lower abdomen during detention.
On the same day, July 6, the Cybersecurity Crime Centre summoned Secret Reporters publisher Fejiro Oliver over allegations of espionage and cyberstalking, including claims that he leaked government information to foreign entities. Oliver, who is currently outside Nigeria, and his lawyer Adekunle Olanipekun have rejected the accusations, attributing them to his investigative journalism.
Oliver was previously detained for 61 days in 2025 before being released on bail in November; those cybercrime and defamation cases remain ongoing. He has faced surveillance and arrest in the past, including in 2017.
CPJ received no response to requests for comment from the national police spokesperson.
Attempts to contact the DSS yielded limited information, with one official confirming Sodiq’s case was under investigation but declining further discussion.
The incidents highlight ongoing concerns about press freedom and the use of security and cybercrime laws against journalists in Nigeria.
