“The IGP (Inspector General of Police) was particularly angry that this came up at a time when the Police had pledged and are taking tangible steps to ensure press freedom. He equally ordered that the head of that unit be sanctioned for his conduct.
“IGP Egbetokun does not want and would not condone any setback to our support for press freedom.”
These were the exact words of the Police Force spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin when he was reacting to the trending news of the arrest of Sodeeq Atanda, a senior reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).
Atanda’s wife and nine-month-old child were earlier detained for hours as bait to lure him.
The incident occurred on Monday when officers from the IGP Monitoring Unit reportedly detained Atanda’s wife, Adenike and their infant at a location in Ikorodu, Lagos.
The police spokesperson, on his X page today, December 24, said that the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered the immediate sanction of the head of a police unit implicated in the controversial arrest and detention of the journalist and his family members.
Benjamin Hundeyin said that IGP Egbetokun was “miffed” upon learning of the arrest of Atanda through the International Press Institute (IPI).
“In as much as you might want your depiction of the IGP to be true, it isn’t. I was with him last night when Mojeed Musikilu of the International Press Institute (IPI) reached out to me about the arrest. I promptly informed the IGP and he was miffed. You might choose to believe I am making this up, but it is the truth.
“He (IGP) directed that the head of the unit be contacted to release the journalist immediately. I updated Mojeed accordingly.”
He emphasised that the IGP ordered the journalist’s immediate release and sanctioned the unit head.
FIJ had said that the journalist was arrested because of a story on how Adeyemi Awoyinfa, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Legend Adex Immigration Consult, refused to refund £15,000 he collected in November 2023 from a UK-based Nigerian who wanted two certificates of sponsorship (CoS) for two of his family friends, after failing to deliver.
The IPI Nigeria, through its President, Mojid Musikilu had asked for immediate release of the journalist.
