The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center (NPF-NCCC) has continued to withhold the international passport of Daniel Ojukwu, an FIJ journalist whom it abducted on May 1.
After granting him bail, the police collected Ojukwu’s passport, claiming they wanted to ensure he would not flee the country.
Three months later, the police have refused to release this document, and they are yet to charge him in court.
In May, FIJ sued the police for the violations of Ojukwu’s fundamental human rights, seeking relief at a high court in Lagos. The court adjourned the matter until October 29.
READ MORE: FIJ’s Daniel Ojukwu Regains Freedom From Police Captivity After Protests
Akthough the police have neither let go of Ojukwu himself or his passport, Section 35(4) of the 1999 constitution states that: “Any person who is arrested or detained in accordance with subsection (1) (c) of this section shall be brought before a court of law within a reasonable time, and if he is not tried within a period of – (a) two months from the date of his arrest or detention in the case of a person who is in custody or is not entitled to bail; or (b) three months from the date of his arrest or detention in the case of a person who has been released on bail, he shall (without prejudice to any further proceedings that may be brought against him) be released either unconditionally or upon such conditions as are reasonably necessary to ensure that he appears for trial at a later date.”
The NPF-NCCC abducted Ojukwu in Lagos. It held him in detention at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, for five days. Then the NPF-NCCC transferred him to the NCCC office in Abuja. It later moved him to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in the same city.
It took media pressure and a public protest to get the police to release him on bail on May 10.
READ MORE: Police Locked Me Up With Confessed Murderers, FIJ’s Daniel Ojukwu Reveals
After his release, Ojukwu has appeared at the NCCC office on multiple occasions but has yet to get a court date.
The police also invited ‘Fisayo Soyombo, FIJ’s founder and editor-in-chief, for questioning on August 14, releasing him on bail afterwards.
Ojukwu is accused of cyberstalking Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals.
Relying on repealed provisions of section 24 of the Cybercrime Act (2015), the police claimed a publication, detailing how contracts awarded by Orelope-Adefulire’s office violated procurement laws, was injurious to the woman’s character.
The post 3 Months After, NPF-NCCC Still Holding on to Daniel Ojukwu’s Passport appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.