Nigerian authorities should quickly drop all charges against journalists Aiyelabegan AbdulRazaq and Oluwatoyin Bolakale and allow them to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday.
On September 11, police officers arrested AbdulRazaq and Bolakale, editors of independent news websites Online Event Only and Satellite media respectively, for their critical reporting on a local politician, according to the two journalists and their lawyer Taofiq Olateju, who spoke to CPJ.
According to the statement of charges, reviewed by CPJ, the September 9 articles contained accusations of abuse of power by Jumoke Gafar, the former principal private secretary to the governor of the north-central Kwara state, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who is not related to the journalist.
On September 13, the two journalists were charged with cyberbullying (carrying a penalty of up to three years in prison and a fine of 7 million naira (US$9,024)) and conspiracy (carrying a penalty of up to seven years in prison). ) according to the law. Cyber Crime law according to the two journalists, their lawyer and the statement of charges.
On September 20, the court granted The journalists were released on bail and set a court date for October 4, the journalists and their lawyer said.
Messrs. AbdulRazaq and Bolakale told CPJ that officers from the police headquarters in the state capital, Ilorin, called them to interrogate about their sources on 9/11 and explained that their reporting was based on a press release from a political lobby group, which they had cited. The journalists said police asked them for a contact for the signer of the press release, which they were unable to provide.
“Nigerian authorities should quickly drop all charges against journalists Aiyelabegan Babatunde AbdulRazaq and Oluwatoyin Luqman Bolakale and allow them to work without intimidation,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator in Durban, South Africa. “Once again we see Nigeria’s cybercrime law being abused to prosecute the press and police intimidating journalists into revealing their sources. When will lawmakers act to ensure journalism is not criminalized?
Satcom Media published a article on September 18, it retracted its original report, adding that “we never aimed to tarnish the image of Mrs. Jumoke Gafar.” Just Event Online posted the same message on their Facebook page. Just Event Online was offline at the time of publication, which AbdulRazaq said was due to a network issue unrelated to the case.
At the time of publication, the original from The Satcom Media report was still online.
Kwara Online Media Professionals Association president Shola Taofeek said the police also asked a third journalist, Oyewale Oyelola, editor-in-chief of news website Factual Times, to come to the station, but he He hid for fear of being arrested. . The outlet also published a article on September 9 about Ms. Gafar, according to the same press release.
Kwara state police spokesperson Okasanmi Ajayi told CPJ he was aware of the case but could not comment because it was in court. CPJ’s calls and text messages to Ms. Gafar seeking comment went unanswered.