The International Press Centre has condemned the arrest of two journalists by police in Ekiti and Kano states. The centre said Sodeeq Atanda, a senior reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, was arrested in Ado-Ekiti following a petition from Abayomi Fasina, vice-chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti.
Atanda was accused of cyberbullying, blackmail and criminal defamation. According to the IPC, he was held for more than eight hours on the orders of state commissioner of police Joseph Eribo, and was allegedly forced to walk barefoot at the police headquarters before being released on bail under what the centre described as stringent conditions.
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The IPC also accused police in Kano of detaining Abdulaziz Aliyu, a reporter with Waraka Online TV, over a story he published months earlier. The Association of Kano Online Journalists confirmed the incident, saying Aliyu was harassed before being freed.
Executive Director of the IPC, Lanre Arogundade, described the arrests as an attempt to intimidate the press. He called on the police to address disputes with journalists through lawful channels instead of resorting to harassment or detention.
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