Court denies police request to arrest FIJ founder Soyombo

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday turned down a police request for a bench warrant against Fisayo Soyombo, the founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ). He is facing charges of cyberstalking and criminal defamation along with another journalist.

The prosecution asked the court to issue the warrant. They told Justice Joyce Abdulmalik that they could not serve Mr Soyombo with court documents. But the judge refused, stating that Mr Soyombo had not been brought before her, so she could not take action against him.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Daniel Ojukwu, the other journalist involved, was brought before the judge for arraignment after being arrested for responding to a police invitation. The judge ordered Mr Ojukwu to be held at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja after he pleaded not guilty to the charges. Both he and Mr Soyombo are named as co-accused in the case.

The police claim the journalists published reports that defamed Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire. She was a former senior special assistant on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the late President Muhammadu Buhari. The charges against them include cyberstalking and criminal defamation in 12 counts.

During the court session, prosecutors Kunle Lawal, Tolulope Osho, Grace Baiyeshea, and Marvellous Orji told the court that they had tried unsuccessfully to serve Mr Soyombo with the necessary documents. Oluseye Moore, the lawyer for the defendants, opposed the request, saying the police had previously granted both journalists administrative bail during the investigation.

Mr Moore argued that it was the police's duty to ensure both journalists appeared in court until a formal charge was filed and the court set their bail conditions. He also mentioned that the prosecution had filed a request to serve Mr Soyombo electronically, which the court denied.

The judge declined the request for a warrant against Mr Soyombo. For Mr Ojukwu, his lawyer, Atanda Kayode, objected to the request for his remand. Mr Kayode informed the court that a bail application was already filed for the journalist.

But the judge, Ms Abdulmalik, would not hear the bail application. She said it was not ready for consideration since it was only filed on Monday. The defense team also requested that Mr Ojukwu be allowed to continue on the administrative bail granted earlier by the police, arguing he had not violated any conditions.

The judge rejected this request and ordered Mr Ojukwu to be held until 1 December when the bail application will be considered.

Background

The charges arise from four reports published by FIJ between November 2023 and January 2024. These reports focused on the activities of the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs. One report, published on 7 November 2023, questioned a payment of N147.1 million made to a restaurant for building classrooms at Ajeromi Primary School in Lagos.

Another report, published on 3 December 2023, raised concerns about a N47.5 million classroom construction contract given to Tru3 Nigeria Limited. The other reports looked into the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s seizure of N241 million linked to the SDGs office. They also discussed failures of solar panels installed in Ogun State shortly after they were set up.

The police claim the journalists worked together to commit cyberstalking and criminal defamation by knowingly publishing false information about Ms Orelope-Adefulire. Mr Ojukwu was previously arrested concerning these reports in May 2024. He went missing on 1 May after his phones became unreachable. His family later found out he was detained by the Inspector-General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team.

He spent time at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, Lagos, before being moved to the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre in Abuja. He was released on 10 May 2024 after spending 10 days in custody. His release followed public protests and pressure regarding his detention.

Mr Soyombo is expected to appear before the court on 1 December.