Alerts | Arrest/detention/charges

Four journalists charged with cybercrime for reporting on corruption

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On February 6, two journalists from the online news outlet Informant247, Adisa-Jaji Azeew and Salifu Ayatullahi, were arrested and detained by Kwara Command Police following a summons. The arrest was due to a complaint filed by Engineer Abdul Jimoh Muhammed, the rector of Kwara State Polytechnic. They were held overnight and later granted bail in court. The two journalists together with their colleagues Salihu Shola Taofeek and Abdulrahman Taye Damilola were charged with violating the 2015 Cyber Act and Criminal Code, with potential penalties of up to seven years imprisonment and a fine if convicted. The charges related to articles published in November 2023 and February 2024, alleging that the rector made false claims about the institution’s finances and commissioned substandard project work. 

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