Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police, has directed the swift punishment of the leader of a police unit involved in the contentious arrest of Sodeeq Atanda, a senior journalist at the Foundation for Investigative Journalism.
The directive comes after widespread outrage regarding the detention of the journalist’s spouse and their nine-month-old child, reportedly utilized as bait to attract him.
On Monday, it was reported that officers from the IGP Monitoring Unit apprehended Adenike, Atanda’s wife, along with their baby at a site in Ikorodu, Lagos.
FIJ reports that the police forced Adenike to contact her husband by pretending that their child was unwell and required medical care.
Upon Atanda’s arrival, he was cuffed and transported to the Force Headquarters in Obalende.
FIJ founder and editor-in-chief, Fisayo Soyombo, verified the detention and later release on X, indicating that the arrest was related to an investigative article by Atanda.
Atanda was freed just before midnight on Monday together with his family, provoking public anger regarding police behavior and media liberty.
Activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore condemned the police methods as “deeply troubling,” alleging that the force under Egbetokun is working with private entities to kidnap civilians and disrupt law and order. He stated that the incident highlighted systemic problems within the Nigeria Police Force, which could undermine public confidence.
In response on X, Police Force spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin supported the IGP, indicating that Egbetokun was “miffed” to find out about the arrest via the International Press Institute (IPI).
“Inasmuch as you (Sowore) 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 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 directed that the head of the unit (not a DPO as you claimed) be contacted to release the journalist immediately. I updated Mojeed accordingly,” Hundeyin said.
He stressed that the IGP ordered the journalist’s immediate release and sanctioned the unit head.
“The IGP 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,” Hundeyin added.
Meanwhile, FIJ stated that the journalist’s arrest is 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.
