An Asaba Magistrate Court in Delta State has ordered the arrest of investigative journalist Fejiro Oliver, for failing to appear in court on a scheduled hearing date.

The court also ordered the arrest of Oliver’s sureties.The order came despite Oliver’s lawyer informing the court that his client was unable to appear due to credible threats to his life.

Magistrate Edith Nkechi Anumadu of Magistrate Court 3, Asaba, issued the bench warrant against Oliver after his counsel told the court that his client feared for his safety following alleged harassment and threats by armed security operatives.

The development comes weeks after another Asaba magistrate court, presided over by Magistrate Patricia, issued a similar bench warrant against the journalist in December 2025.

This is despite being informed that Oliver was under threat and had been trailed by armed, masked men believed to be police officers.

Reacting to the latest order, Oliver described the action as persecution rather than justiceOliver recalled that he has consistently appeared before the courts in a cybercrime case pending against him in Lagos since 2017.”This is not justice.

This is persecution.

I am not deterred or bothered. I have never run from court trials.”I have stood trial since 2017 in Lagos, attending every sitting, flying from Abuja, staying in hotels for days, and never backing out.

In fact, I want to stand trial to confront them, expose them, and disgrace their lies in open court.

But a trial must first be safe,” he said.

He accused the Nigeria Police Force of abandoning lawful policing and becoming an instrument of intimidation.

Noting that what exists today is no longer law enforcement, Oliver alleged that since the Delta case began, he has been hounded by masked, armed and unaccountable operatives allegedly deployed from the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) monitoring unit.”My decision not to submit myself for trial is based solely on credible fears for my life.

Appearing in court poses a grave risk to my personal security. My fear is neither imagined nor unreasonable,” he stated.According to Oliver, self-preservation is a constitutional right.”The right to life precedes any criminal process.

It is superior to every bench warrant. A country that cannot guarantee my safety has no moral authority to demand my surrender for trial,” he said.He recalled that in December 2025, armed policemen allegedly stormed his office while he was in Asaba for his court case, an incident he described at the time as a witch-hunt that heightened fears for his safety.Later that same month, Oliver said masked and heavily armed policemen, allegedly from the IGP squad, again invaded his Abuja office in an unmarked, black-tinted Hiace bus.

According to him, the officers arrived around 8:45 a.m. claiming to have an arrest warrant and his personal details, but allegedly failed to present the warrant to estate security officials.

Oliver said he is currently in hiding, insisting that his life remains in serious danger.

He also recalled that in September 2025, he was allegedly abducted from his Abuja office by policemen and flown to Delta State on the orders of the state government.

He said he was detained for weeks before being arraigned in court and remanded in prison, before securing his release on bail following pressure from civil society organisations.

Oliver was later released after meeting his bail conditions.