NIGERIA: IPI Demands Immediate Release Of Detained Journalist Stanley Ugagbe

By Onoja Baba

The Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI Nigeria) has called for the immediate release of journalist Stanley Ugagbe, who was reportedly taken into custody following the publication of an investigative report by Secrets Reporters.

In a statement issued on Saturday and jointly signed by the institute’s Secretary, Ahmed I. Shekarau, and Legal Adviser/Chairman of the Advocacy Committee, Tobi Soniyi, the media watchdog expressed deep concern over the circumstances surrounding Ugagbe’s detention, describing it as a threat to press freedom and the rule of law.

According to IPI Nigeria, available reports indicate that four unidentified men abducted the journalist from his residence in Abuja on Wednesday.

The institute cited an account by Secrets Reporters Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Fejiro Oliver, who alleged that officers of the Nigeria Police Force carried out the operation shortly after Ugagbe returned home from an official training programme.

Oliver alleged that the operatives subsequently took the journalist to his residence in Jikwoyi, where they confiscated his official laptop and mobile phone before taking him to an undisclosed location.

He further stated that efforts by the publication’s legal team and staff to trace Ugagbe proved unsuccessful.

According to him, the newspaper’s lawyer, editor and a senior reporter searched the former SARS facility, the FCT Police Command and the Force Headquarters without locating the journalist. Another reporter reportedly visited the Jikwoyi and Karu police stations to determine whether the operation had been officially documented, but found no record of his arrest or detention.

“As of the time of issuing this statement, Ugagbe’s whereabouts remain unknown,” IPI Nigeria said.

The institute condemned both the manner of the arrest and the alleged decision to hold the journalist incommunicado, noting that he had reportedly been denied access to his family, lawyers and employer, contrary to constitutional guarantees.

IPI Nigeria argued that the continued criminalisation of legitimate journalistic work undermines press freedom, weakens the rule of law and could negatively affect Nigeria’s democratic reputation.

The organisation therefore called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the relevant security agencies to immediately produce the journalist, disclose the legal basis for his arrest, grant him unrestricted access to his legal representatives and family, and either charge him before a competent court if there is credible evidence of wrongdoing or release him without further delay.

The institute stressed that under Nigeria’s Constitution, every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, adding that prolonged detention without lawful justification constitutes a violation of fundamental human rights.

It also expressed concern over what it described as a growing trend of using security agencies to intimidate, harass or silence journalists over their professional work.

According to IPI Nigeria, individuals or institutions who believe they have been defamed by media reports should seek redress through the courts rather than resorting to arrests or intimidation.

The organisation further urged the Inspector-General of Police and heads of other security agencies to ensure that officers under their command respect the rule of law and refrain from intervening in matters that are civil in nature.

Reaffirming the role of the media in a democratic society, the institute concluded its statement with a strong message, “A free press is indispensable to democracy. Journalism is not a crime.”