Fisayo Soyombo
The Police in Abuja have detained Fisayo Soyombo, a Nigerian popular investigative journalist and founder of FIJ.ng.
Soyombo, who had worked as editor of The Cable, was allegedly invited to the police headquarters on Monday where his devices were however impounded while he was detained.
An advocacy group, Transparency Nigeria, said the police action violated the rights of Mr. Soyombo because he is constitutionally allowed to do what he has done.
“This arbitrary arrest seems to be connected with a story published by the highly respected FIJ.ng in respect of high-level corruption and grand larceny at the highest echelons of the Nigerian Police Force, a story which Mr. Soyombo and his associates are empowered by the Constitution to produce as part of their responsibilities as members of the Fourth Estate,” said the group on Monday
The group said it condemns the intimidation, harassment of gentlemen of the press, who sometimes put their lives on the line to provide information to the ordinary man on the street.
It added, “Mr. Soyombo’s arrest is a clear case of state-sponsored harassment and shows that corruption will always “fight back” when threatened with the beacon of light.”
The group called on all donor agencies including the European Union, UK AID, the German government, the United States and all other agencies to immediately suspend all support and financial assistance to the Nigerian Police Force on account of this egregious act of the corruption-tainted Police Force.
“We will also petition all these agencies and demand that all members of the Nigerian Police Force must be placed on a travel ban until the harassment of journalists by the Force is addressed once and for all,” the group vowed
NPOReports
