The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has condemned the arrest and continued detention of Secrets Reporters journalist Stanley Ugabe, calling on the Nigeria Police Force to release him immediately and unconditionally.
In a statement issued on Monday, the media rights organisation alleged that Ugabe had been detained for six days by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) without any formal public communication regarding his arrest.
According to the CJID, Ugabe was allegedly abducted on 1 July from his residence in the Jikwoyi area of Abuja by four armed men dressed in plain clothes who arrived in an unmarked vehicle.
The organisation claimed the journalist was blindfolded, held in a secret location and later transferred to the NPF-NCCC headquarters over petitions linked to his journalistic work.
The organisation also expressed concern over what it described as an escalation of the matter following the invitation of the publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Secrets Reporters, Tega Oghenedoro, also known as Fejiro Oliver.
CJID said the police, in a letter dated 6 July, invited Oghenedoro to appear before the NPF-NCCC headquarters in Abuja on 8 July as part of an investigation into alleged espionage, cyberstalking and computer-related offences.
The organisation criticised the police’s handling of the case, arguing that the use of plain-clothes operatives, unmarked vehicles and incommunicado detention resembled criminal abductions and undermined public confidence in law enforcement.
It further alleged that the Cybercrime Act has increasingly been used to target journalists and media organisations, citing previous arrests of journalists Segun Olatunji and Daniel Ojukwu in 2024.
CJID said the latest incident appeared inconsistent with the commitments made by the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, to improve police relations with the media and uphold press freedom.
The organisation urged the Inspector-General to order Ugabe’s immediate release, withdraw the invitation issued to Oghenedoro, end what it described as the weaponisation of the Cybercrime Act against journalists and investigate officers involved in the operation.
CJID maintained that journalism is not a crime and reaffirmed its commitment to defending press freedom and ensuring a safe environment for journalists to carry out their constitutional responsibilities.
