Ah! Egbetokun! You broke the law. Netizens slam IGP for detaining journalist beyond legal limits
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Kayode Egbetoku, a ‘Tinubu boy’ now the Inspector General of Police (IGP), is being slammed on social media by Nigerians who accuse him of breaking the law by ordering the detention of journalist Daniel Ojukwu for 10 days without charging him to court.
It is now public knowledge that the ubiquitous ‘Tinubu people’ – who have enjoyed patronage from him and have been loyal to him for decades, long before he became President – rose up against the journalist when he wrote a story exposing alleged corruption against one of them.
Ojukwu, who works with Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), was abducted by the police in Lagos on May 1 and later transferred to Abuja for writing a muckraking story linking Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire with corruption when she served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
FIJ has also published a story which linked Egbetokun to an influential smuggler in the South West who allegedly enjoys protection from the IGP.
Orelope-Adefulire, a ‘Tinubu woman’, served as Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Commissioner when he was Lagos Governor.
She became Deputy Lagos Governor (2011 to 2015) when Babatunde Fashola was Governor and later served as Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under Buhari.
Egbetokun was Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Tinubu when he was Lagos Governor, and Tinubu appointed him IGP last year after he became President.
Muiz Banire, another ‘Tinubu boy’, wrote the petition to Egbetokun that led to the police abduction of Ojukwu, according to FIJ.
Banire, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) – who served under Tinubu as Commissioner when the President was Lagos Governor – is the founder of the United Action For Change (UAC), which he touts as “a pressure group and think tank with the drive to build a society where people are valued and treated equally, and enjoy their rights as full citizens.”
Banire has also once served as National Legal Adviser of Tinubu’s political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
FIJ quotes UAC as claiming on its website that it is “striving to enable citizens to exercise their democratic rights and assert their dignity as full citizens and take control of their lives.”
CSOs, others protest at Force Headquarters in Abuja
On Thursday, protesters comprising Civil Society Organisations and individual citizens stormed Police Force Headquarters in Abuja to protest against Ojukwu’s unlawful detention without arraignment.
The protesters included human rights activist and #RevolutionNow Convener Omoyele Sowore, FIJ Board of Trustees Chairman Bukola Shonibare, human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju, and media practitioners.
Some of them and other netizens also expressed their views on social media before and after the protest.
Sowore (@YeleSowore)
“This was detained @fijnigeria’s Daniel Ojukwu. Three days ago, we met him at the @PoliceNG detention location. They brought him out of his cell with a promise to release him if we provided a single surety.
“Yesterday, the @Policeng went on wild goose chase visiting the home and offices of the single surety, a high-ranking official of the @UnionNuj.
“Upon the completion of the ‘verification,’ they refused flatly to release him to the official.
“We learnt later that the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, was personally behind his detention because his publication @fijnigeria linked the IGP to a powerful smuggler in Nigeria’s South-West. @Princemoye1 #FreeDanielOjukwuNow.”
@don_lagos89936
Commenting under Sowore’s tweet, @don_lagos89936 wrote:
“IGP took the matter personal.”
Decision to release Ojukwu lies with Egbetokun, says DIG
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Operations Ayuba Ede disclosed at a meeting with the protesters that Ojukwu’s release is at the discretion of Egbetokun.
Ede promised to submit the demands of the protesters to Egbetokun and Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of (FCID) Abiodun Alabi.
His words: “It is good that you all have come here; and the protesters demonstrated peacefully without violence. Also, our men had coordinated themselves well.
“We are looking into the matter. My office is in charge of police operations, and that’s why I’m interacting with you over the protest at the Force Headquarters.
“We have heard your submission concerning how the reporter wrote an article and a petition was written against him, and he has been arrested. I will also contact the DIG in charge of the FCID to get details of the development as regards their investigation.
“Once I have the full details, we will relay the information to the IG. The IG is the person who would decide on the journalist’s release. He has the final say on the matter – whether to release him on bail or charge him to court.”
Police spokesman denies Egbetoku “took the matter personal”
Force Public Relations Officer Olumuyiwa Adejobi responded to the tweet by Don (@don_lagos89936)in his own tweet which denied Egbetokun’s personal involvement in the matter and explained the police team in charge of Ojukwu’s detention is led by a “competent” Commissioner of Police.
“The IGP has no hand in this case. The team handling FIJ’s case is headed by a Commissioner of Police, who is competent and ready to do justice all the time,” Adejobi tweeted.
“The police force has not erred in this case at all. The law must take its course. If Daniel Ojukwu produces a substantive surety today, he will be released on bail.”
But other X users blamed the police for detaining Ojukwu for over 48 hours without court arraignment.
Callme_Wéalth (@Lexyzdoo)
“I ask again, when you [Adejobi] leave that office and retire, what will you be remembered for? What is your blueprint?”
Colonel Afzal (@Afzalgital)
“When exposing crime is treated as a crime, you’re being ruled by criminals.”
Eniola Daniel (@UnlimitedEniola)
“Journalists are now their enemies. It’s sad how we don’t get appreciated and still get victimised.”
Monday Ubani (former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch Chairman)
Ubani told The PUNCH that Ojukwu’s detention has lasted for more than 48 hours, whereas it is not lawful to put anyone on “an indefinite suspension.”
He insisted “That’s not the purpose of crime prosecution, prevention and proceedings.
“If somebody has committed a crime (like it’s done in civilised climes), before you arraign an individual, you must have done your homework in terms of investigation so that when you bring in the person, you don’t have to waste time in charging that person to court.”
Inibehe Effiong (human rights lawyer)
“The courts have held repeatedly that failure by a ‘suspect’ to meet conditions of administrative bail imposed by the police does not justify detention beyond the constitutional timeline of 24 hours.
“If Daniel Ojukwu is unable to meet your arbitrary and onerous bail conditions, which by the way offend the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and the Police Act, 2020 that frowns at the imposition of stringent bail conditions, the right course of action is for the police to arraign him before a court of competent jurisdiction if he has committed an offence.”
Backstory
Ojukwu in October 2023 reported how Orelope-Adefulire allegedly paid N147.1 million to an account traced to Enseno Global Ventures, a restaurant based in Abuja, for the construction of classrooms.
The FIJ said it suspects the report was the reason for his detention and republished the investigation on 5 May 2024.
FIJ founder Fisayo Soyombo insisted the report is a representation of the facts, and not mere allegations as the police are saying, erroneously citing violation of the Cybercrime Act that Ojukwu is being accused of.
“We keep doing everything we can do behind the scenes,” the abduction is “annoying,” he said.
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