Nigerian court orders journalist kept in custody over report, renewing concerns over media freedom
SERAP says the prosecution over FIJ’s corruption reports could chill investigative journalism and urges authorities to end criminal defamation and cyberstalking charges.
- On Tuesday, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja remanded Foundation for Investigative Journalism reporter Daniel Ojukwu to Kuje Correctional Centre on 12 charges of alleged cyberstalking and criminal defamation.
- The charges stem from 2023 reports examining alleged financial mismanagement by Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, questioning payments of more than 147 million naira.
- Prosecutors allege the publications put Adefulire "in fear of death," while the court adjourned Ojukwu's bail hearing until December 1 and sought to arrest FIJ founder Fisayo Soyombo.
- Amnesty International condemned the detention on Wednesday, warning it "raises serious concerns about the use of judicial processes to intimidate journalists" as Ojukwu remains in custody for 21 days.
- Nigeria currently ranks 112th out of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, reflecting a legal environment where at least 29 journalists have faced prosecution under cybercrime laws since 2015.
33 Articles
33 Articles
Nigerian court detains journalist Daniel Ojukwu on cybercrime charges
Abuja, November 11, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to immediately drop the criminal charges against journalist Daniel Ojukwu, release him unconditionally, and stop criminalizing the press for their work. On November 10, a federal court in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, remanded Ojukwu, a correspondent with the privately owned Foundation for Investigative Journalism...
Associated Press News
Nigerian court orders journalist kept in custody over report, renewing concerns over media freedom
A decision by a court in Nigeria to keep investigative journalist Daniel Ojukwu in custody has sparked renewed concerns about media freedom.
SERAP calls for release of detained FIJ journalist Daniel Ojukwu
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project,SERAP, has called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the detention of Foundation for Investigative Journalism reporter, Daniel Ojukwu, who is being held at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja. The organisation wants Tinubu and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to ensure the journalist's immediate release and […] SERAP calls for release of detained FIJ journalist D…
SERAP demands Ojukwu’s release, end to prosecution of journalists
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 immediate release of Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), from the Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja. The organisation also urged the Federal Government to end the […]
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