POLICE DETAIN ICIR PUBLISHER

The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has allegedly detained Dayo Aiyetan, the executive director of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and Nurudeen Akewushola, a reporter.

On Tuesday, Aiyetan, Akewusola, and ICIR lawyers honoured the invitation of the NPF-NCCC in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

In the invitation letter, the police cybercrime centre said it is investigating a “case of cyberstalking and defamation of character” against the reporter and the “managing director” of the ICIR.

Hours after the ICIR publisher, reporter, and lawyers visited the NPF-NCCC office in Abuja, they are yet to be released.

In a statement, the ICIR said Aiyetan, Akewushola, and the lawyers have been unreachable since they went to the NPF-NCCC office.

Bamas Victoria, the ICIR editor, said the organisation is worried that this is a ploy by the police to detain the journalists.

The media organisation said the invitation is connected to a report that was published on its website and exposed abuse of office by two former inspector-generals of police (IGPs) and other senior officers.

In February 2024, ICIR published a report on how some officers of the Nigeria Police Mortgage Bank, two former IGPs, and a contractor were enmeshed in allegations of corruption involving forgery and bribery in an alleged illegal sale of police land designated for the construction of barracks in Abuja.

In the report, the names of Ibrahim Idris and Solomon Arase, former IGPs, were mentioned for allegedly collecting a N400 million bribe for the award of contracts.

Ikechukwu Ani, spokesperson of the Police Service Commission (PSC), said in a recent statement that Arase, the commission’s chairman, had taken the ICIR to court over the report.

Ani said the report was conceived to “bring down and ridicule” Arase.

As of the time of this report, the ICIR said it had yet to receive official notification of the court processes.