Nigerian investigative journalist and founder of Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Fisayo Soyombo, has reportedly been arrested by the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in the country’s South-south region, according to his staff.
“The 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt has been detaining our founder @fisayosoyombo for 3 days running. Journalism is not a crime! #FreeFisayoNow,” FIJ said on social media on Friday.
FIJ staff told HumAngle that Soyombo, who is known for undercover journalism in Africa, went incommunicado on Nov. 26.
“He has been incommunicado for three days and we have to investigate as a team. Earlier this morning, we got the notification from multiple sources within the military that he’s in their custody and that’s all we have for now,” said Daniel Ojukwu, a staff of FIJ.
Ojukwu added that the FIJ team could not immediately establish why Soyombo was being detained.
Soyombo’s arrest came two months after FIJ reported that the officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) were after their founder.
The undercover journalist has done a series of critical reports on smuggling which he then followed up with a series of ‘good morning’ posts on the X social media platform, drawing public attention to issues in the customs service.
Meanwhile, the Director of Army Public Relations, Maj Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, could not be reached for comments as of the time of filing this report as he is yet to respond to calls and text messages.
Nigeria is ranked as one of the countries difficult for journalists to practice in the world, making media groups and local journalism unions to continue to advocate for the protection of journalists in the country.
Nigerian investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo, known for his undercover journalism, has reportedly been detained by the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt for three days.
His team at the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) confirmed his incommunicado status and received confirmation from military sources of his custody, though the reason for his detention remains unknown.
This arrest follows FIJ’s previous report of a potential threat from the Department of State Services. The incident underscores Nigeria’s challenging environment for journalists, as media groups continue to advocate for their protection.
Efforts to reach the Army’s public relations director for comments have been unsuccessful.