Ahmed Isah Sakpe, a journalist at the Prestige FM radio station in Minna, Nigeria, also known as Ahmed Lee, was arrested by the police on 16 February. He was detained for more than a week at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) on charges of alleged “falsehood, defamation and cyberbullying” relating to a social media post. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns this act of intimidation, which has become a common tactic used to silence journalists in Nigeria, and calls for Sakpe’s release.
According to media reports, journalist Ahmed Isah Sakpe was summoned to the police station following a complaint lodged by a protocol officer attached to the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago. The complaint was triggered by a press statement published on the Crusader Radio Facebook page, which is managed by Sakpe, that exposed a political crisis in the Niger South Senatorial District.
Upon arriving at the police station, the journalist was detained for alleged defamation.
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A police spokesperson confirmed Sakpe’s detention. They announced that the complaint was under investigation and that the case would soon be brought to court “upon the conclusion of preliminary enquiries.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “The recent wave of arrests of journalists by the Nigerian police signals a desperate attempt to suppress freedom of speech and silence journalists. Publishing a press statement about people’s right to know cannot justify the arrest and detention of a journalist whose work is in the public interest”.
The IFJ demands the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Ahmed Isah Sakpe.
