The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, has ordered the
detention of investigative journalist, ‘Fisayo Soyombo, at the Force
Headquarters in Abuja.
It was learnt that Soyombo, the founder of the Foundation
for Investigative Journalism, was detained on Monday when he honoured a police
invitation.
It was also gathered that Soyombo’s detention was in
connection with an investigative story published by his medium in August 2021
alleging that a Deputy Inspector General of Police, Joseph Egbunike, joined
other police chiefs to approve more than N1bn for some police transit camp projects
in Benue, Bauchi, Plateau, Katsina and Kano states.
However, Soyombo’s FIJ reported that after a visit to the
project locations, nothing or little had been done — three years later.
The news platform said Egbunike was in his former role as
Commissioner of Police in charge of Budget and Finance at the Nigeria Police
Force Headquarters when the approval for the sham projects was done.
Egbunike, now a DIG, headed the police internal panel that
probed suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, who was recently
indicted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his alleged involvement in
a $1.1m Internet scam said to have been carried out by an Instagram influencer,
Abbas Ramon, popularly known as Hushpuppi and four others.
It was further gathered that Egbunike raised some lawyers
who petitioned the IGP to prosecute the journalist for alleged defamation.
The IGP thereafter invited Soyombo to the Force headquarters
in Abuja.
Upon his arrival at the Force Headquarters on Monday, the
journalist, in a Facebook post, wrote, “I have just arrived at the Force
Headquarters, Abuja, to honour an invitation from the Monitoring Unit of the
Inspector General of Police. They say my ‘name and phone number featured in an
investigation’ they are conducting.
“The decision to come was straightforward: I am a
law-abiding citizen who has committed no crime unless journalism is one. If
there is no update on this handle by dusk, it means I have been unjustly
detained. I will be surrendering my devices now…”
Calls to Soyombo’s line were unreachable as of press time.
Also, efforts to reach the Force Public Relations Officer,
Frank Mba, proved abortive as he disconnected the telephone line.
The Force spokesman also did not reply a text message
seeking his comments on Soyombo’s detention as of the time of filing this
report.
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