Court rejects police request for arrest warrant against FIJ founder Soyombo

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday rejected a police request for a bench warrant against ‘Fisayo Soyombo, founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), over a case in which he and another journalist are charged with cyberstalking and criminal defamation.

The prosecution asked the court to issue the warrant, telling Justice Joyce Abdulmalik that it had been unable to serve Mr Soyombo with court processes.

But the judge declined, saying Mr Soyombo, charged alongside an FIJ journalist Daniel Ojukwu, had yet to be produced before her to be able to exercise such powers over him.

PREMIUM TIMES reported Tuesday that Mr Ojukwu, who had been detained on honouring police invitation, was produced before the judge for arraignment.

The judge remanded Mr Ojukwu at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja after the journalist pleaded not guilty to the charges in which he and Mr Soyombo were jointly named as co-accused.

The police accused the journalists of publishing reports that defamed Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, a former senior special assistant on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to late President Muhammadu Buhari. The 12 counts include allegations of cyberstalking and criminal defamation.

At Tuesday’s proceedings, prosecutors Kunle Lawal, Tolulope Osho, Grace Baiyeshea and Marvellous Orji told the court that efforts to serve Mr Soyombo had been unsuccessful.

Opposing the application, Oluseye Moore, lawyer to the defendants, said both journalists had been granted administrative bail by the police during investigations.

He argued that the police were responsible for ensuring their appearance in court until they were formally charged and their bail conditions determined by the court.

Mr Moore also told the court that the prosecution had filed an ex parte application seeking permission to serve Mr Soyombo electronically.

The court rejected the request for a warrant against Mr Soyombo.

For Mr Ojukwu, his lawyer, Atanda Kayode, raised futile objection to the request for his remand.

Mr Kayode informed the court that a bail application had already been filed on behalf of the journalist.

But the judge, Ms Abdulmalik, declined to hear the application, saying it was not ripe for consideration because it had only been filed on Monday.

The defence also asked the court to allow Mr Ojukwu to continue on the administrative bail earlier granted by the police, arguing that he had not breached its conditions.

The judge rejected the request and ordered his remand until 1 December, when the bail application is expected to be heard.

Background

The charges relate to four FIJ reports published between November 2023 and January 2024 about the activities of the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs.

One of the reports, published on 7 November 2023, questioned a payment of N147.1 million to a restaurant for the construction of classrooms at Ajeromi Primary School in Lagos.

Another, published on 3 December 2023, raised questions about a N47.5 million classroom construction contract awarded to Tru3 Nigeria Limited.

The other reports examined the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s forfeiture of N241 million linked to the SDGs office and the failure of solar panels installed at classroom blocks in Ogun State shortly after installation.

The police alleged that the journalists conspired to commit cyberstalking and criminal defamation and knowingly published false reports about Ms Orelope-Adefulire.

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Mr Ojukwu was previously arrested over the reports in May 2024. He was reported missing on 1 May after his phones became unreachable. His family and employer later discovered that he was being held by the Inspector-General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team.

He was detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, Lagos, before being transferred to the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre in Abuja.

He was released on 10 May 2024 after 10 days in custody, following public protests and pressure over his detention.

Mr Soyombo is expected to appear before the court on 1 December.