Court remands FIJ journalist Daniel Ojukwu over 2023 reports about presidential aide

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday remanded Daniel Ojukwu, a Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) reporter, in prison over a series of stories he authored in 2023 about Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the senior special assistant on sustainable development goals (SSAP-SDGs) to the president.

The judge, Joyce Abdulmalik,.ordered Mr Ojukwu remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre until 1 December, implying the journalist will be in detention for the next 21 days.

Ms Abdulmalik issued the order in a 12-count cyberstalking case brought by the Nigerian police against Mr Ojukwu and the FIJ founder, Fisayo Soyombo.

Mr Ojukwu, who had been detained after honouring a police invitation, was produced in court on Tuesday to face the charges dated 19 December 2024.

The prosecutors accused Mr Ojukwu of defaming Mrs Orelope-Adefulire with his report. They also alleged that the report put the official “in fear of death”.

Mr Ojukwu pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts read to him during the proceedings.

The prosecution, led by Kunle Lawal, informed the court that Mr Soyombo was at large and applied for a bench warrant for his arrest. The judge denied the application, stating that Mr. Soyombo had not yet been brought before her to enable her to issue a bench warrant compelling his attendance.

However, after Mr Ojukwu entered his plea of not guilty, the prosecution requested that he be remanded in prison,

Opposing the call for Mr Ojukwu’s remand, defence lawyer Atanda Kayode drew the court’s attention to a pending bail application filed on behalf of the defendant.

But the judge said the bail application, filed only on Monday, was not ripe for hearing.

The defence lawyer then requested that Mr Ojukwu be allowed to continue enjoying the prior administrative bail granted him by the police, the terms of which he had never violated.

The judge rejected the request. She said the defendant filed his bail application only on Monday, even though the charges had been served on him long ago.

The judge adjourned the bail application hearing until December and ordered Mr Ojukwu remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre till then.

The remand order came about two years after Mr Ojukwu was abducted by the officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in May 2024 over FIJ reports regarding Mrs Orelope-Adefulire, a former deputy governor of Lagos State.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Ojukwu went missing on 1 May 2024, with his phones switched off and whereabouts unknown to colleagues, family and friends. The following day, FIJ made a missing person report at police stations in the area where he was headed.

Mr Ojukwu’s family and employer would later find out that he was “abducted” by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector General of Police, and held incommunicado at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti in Lagos.

The reporter was later transferred to the Nigerian Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) in Abuja, where he was detained for an additional five days.

Police spokesperson at the time, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the journalist’s arrest was based on a petition written against him, accusing him of violating the Cybercrimes Act, a well-known law that the Nigerian authorities have constantly used to suppress press freedom.

The petition was in relation to a story authored by Mr Ojukwu, revealing how the senior special assistant to then-president Muhammad Buhari on sustainable development goals (SSAP-SDGs), Mrs Orelope-Adefulire, was said to have paid N147 million to a restaurant for the construction of classrooms in Lagos.

Prior to Mr Ojukwu’s abduction, the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) invited and grilled the chairperson of FIJ’s Board of Trustees, Bukky Shonibare, in Abuja during which they mentioned the story.

However, the police never invited Mr Ojukwu or any other FIJ staffer except for Ms Shonibare.

The police accused Mr Ojukwu of defaming Mrs Orelope-Adefulire as the senior special assistant on sustainable development goals (SSAP-SDGs) to the president.

He was released on 10 May 2024, after public outcry and human rights pressure. However, the NPF-NCCC has since withheld his passport on the grounds that he would flee the country.

He has appeared before the NPF-NCCC multiple times over this case.

A certified true copy of the charge sheet obtained by PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday showed that it was dated 19 September 2024. It relates to four reports published on FIJ’s website between November 2023 and January 2024.

In the first count, the police accused Mr Soyombo and Mr Ojukwu of conspiring to commit cyberstalking, or aiding and abetting the offence, sometime between 2023 and 2024.

Counts two and three concern reports published on 7 November and 3 December 2023. The police alleged that the publications were intended to harass Ms Adefulire and put her in fear of death, violence or bodily harm.

The 7 November report, titled Special Report: 2 Weeks Before End of Buhari’s Tenure, Special Assistant, Adefulire Paid a Restaurant N147.1m to Build Classrooms in Lagos. A Lot Was Amiss, examined a N147.1 million payment by the SDGs office to a restaurant for classroom construction in Lagos.

The second report, published on 3 December and titled How Orelope-Adefulire’s OSSAP-SDGs Paid N47.5m for Shady Contract on Amosun’s Request, questioned a N47.5 million classroom construction contract awarded to Tru3 Nigeria Limited.

FIJ raised questions about the contractor’s status, the alleged failure to mobilise to the project site and the payment for what it described as a vague block of classrooms.

In count four, the police accused the journalists of cyberstalking over a 9 November 2023 report titled Flashback: How EFCC Made Orelope-Adefulire’s SDGs Forfeit N241m Instead of Billions. The publication examined the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s forfeiture of N241 million linked to the SDGs office.

Count six concerns a 21 January 2024 report, One Week After OSSAP-SDGs Built Classroom Blocks in Amosun’s District, Solar Panels Stop Working. FIJ reported that solar panels installed at the classroom blocks stopped working a week after installation. The police alleged that the report was intended to harass Ms Adefulire.

The other six counts accuse the journalists of criminal defamation.

In count seven, the police alleged that Mr Soyombo and Mr Ojukwu conspired to defame Ms Adefulire sometime between 2023 and 2024.

Counts eight and nine concern the reports on the N147.1 million payment and the N47.5 million contract, respectively. The police accused the journalists of publishing the reports knowing their contents to be false.

Count ten relates to the report on the EFCC’s forfeiture of N241 million, while counts eleven and twelve concern the N47.5 million contract and the report on the solar panels. In each case, the police alleged that the journalists knowingly published false and defamatory material about Ms Adefulire.