3 Nigerian journalists harassed with detention, summons, punitive bail conditions

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Nigerian authorities to stop harassing journalists, following the detention of journalist Zainab Sodiq on July 8, stringent bail conditions placed on Secret Reporters’ Stanley Ugagbe following his forcible disappearance on July 1, and an espionage summons issued to his publisher Fejiro Oliver on July 6.

“Is it outrageous that journalist Zainab Sodiq has been jailed by intelligence agents and has seemingly been denied due process. It is also utterly punitive for Stanley Ugagbe to spend hours, every other day, needlessly reporting to the police,” said CPJ Africa Director Angela Quintal. “Nigeria’s security services must focus their time and resources on the real criminals and not journalists who are keeping the public informed.”

On July 8, the State Security Service, also known as the Department of State Services or DSS, detained Sodiq, a videographer and journalist who also covers the political activities of Omoyele Sowore, founder of the Sahara Reporters outlet and a presidential candidate in Nigeria’s upcoming elections.

The intelligence agency said in a July 9 press release, also posted on X, that Sodiq was “intercepted” July 6 as she sought to board a flight from Lagos to Abuja, the capital, with a drone, without possessing the required End User Certificate. The DSS permitted her to board and ordered her to report to their offices on July 8, which she did. She was detained on arrival at the DSS office.

Sowore said he told the DSS that he owned the drone and he believed Sodiq was detained in connection to her coverage of his events and his ongoing trial for cybercrime and defamation charges and her secret June 22 recording of DSS officials’ physical harassment of Sowore inside a federal high court in Abuja.

Section 35(4) of Nigeria’s constitution states that anyone arrested should generally be brought before a court of law within 48 hours.

Separately on July 6, Ugagbe was freed from the National Cybercrime Centre in Abuja, after being secretly detained on July 1. The police had initially denied holding him.

Ugagbe told CPJ that he was released on bail, without charge, as police continue investigating. He said he was ordered to report to the cybercrime center every two days and that the police were still examining his phone and laptop.

Ugagbe said that on July 1 he was seized by two armed men from a shared public taxi at a traffic light near his home, forced into a car with four armed men, and taken to his house. Two men accompanied him inside to retrieve his laptop, then blindfolded and handcuffed him.

The journalist told CPJ that he remained blindfolded while held overnight in a police facility, which he was unable to identify. The handcuffs were only removed at night and used to chain his leg to a chair while he lay on the floor, Ugagbe said.

Ugagbe said he was transferred, still blindfolded, to the cybercrime center on July 2, where he developed a rash on his lower abdomen.

Also on July 6, the Cybersecurity Crime Centre summoned Secret Reporters’ publisher Tega Oghenedoro, known by his pen name, Fejiro Oliver, over allegations of espionage and cyberstalking, according to a copy of the letter, reviewed by CPJ.

The police accused Oliver of leaking government information and giving information to foreign governments — allegations that the journalist, who is outside Nigeria, and his lawyer, Adekunle Olanipekun, rejected. Oliver told CPJ that he was being targeted for his investigative reporting.

In 2025, Oliver was detained for 61 days before being released on bail on November 18. The cybercrimes and defamation cases are ongoing. Oliver was also targeted with surveillance and arrested in 2017 over his work.

CPJ’s calls and text messages to request comment about the cases involving Ugagbe and Oliver from national police spokesperson Anietie Okokon Edem Iniedu received no replies.

CPJ called all three of the publicly listed contact numbers on the DSS website on July 10. The first number, which was also listed as a “hotline” for “urgent security matters,” did not connect, and an automated response said the “called party is temporarily unavailable.”

The second number connected to what sounded like an automated responder, which did not directly answer questions and eventually disconnected.

The third number was answered by an individual who confirmed connection to the DSS and said Sodiq’s “matter” was “under investigation” and there was “nothing to be worried about,” before adding they were “not in the right position to discuss this.” The individual declined to immediately connect CPJ with someone who could comment further on the case, or to specify when someone else would be available to speak.