Get Guardian on GoogleA civil society organisation, Citizens’ Gavel Foundation for Social Justice, has faulted the continued detention of investigative journalist Daniel Ojukwu at the Kuje Correctional Centre, urging the Federal High Court, Abuja, to hear his bail application earlier.
The organisation also called for an independent investigation into questioned expenditures of N147.1 million and N47.5 million on classroom projects by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In a statement signed by its Communications Associate, Charles Akintola, Citizens’ Gavel said Ojukwu, a correspondent with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), was remanded by the court until December 1, 2026, over a 12-count cyberstalking charge arising from his investigative reports published between 2023 and 2024.
The reports had questioned expenditures by the office headed by Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, including a reported N147.1 million payment to a restaurant for the construction of classrooms in Lagos State and a N47.5 million classroom contract over which questions were raised about the contractor’s status.
Citizens’ Gavel described the issues raised in the reports as legitimate questions about the management of public funds, particularly resources allocated to public education.
It, however, expressed concern that nearly three years after the reports emerged, the questions surrounding the expenditures had yet to receive comprehensive public explanations from the office concerned or published findings from an oversight institution.
The organisation said it was troubling that criminal allegations had instead followed the reports, with Ojukwu accused of placing the public official concerned in fear of death, violence or bodily harm.
While acknowledging the authority of the court, the CSO questioned the necessity and proportionality of Ojukwu’s continued detention, noting that the charge was filed in late 2024 but remained dormant for nearly two years.
Akintola said the journalist’s defence had maintained that he complied with the conditions of his administrative bail throughout the period and was taken into custody after honouring a police invitation.
“In the absence of any reported breach, his remand until December 1, 2026, is difficult to justify on grounds of necessity or proportionality,” the organisation said.
It urged the court to hear his bail application at an earlier date and give due consideration to his record of compliance with previous bail conditions and the non-violent nature of the allegations.
Citizens’ Gavel further called on relevant oversight authorities to investigate the reported N147.1 million payment and N47.5 million classroom contract, establish how the funds were approved, disbursed and utilised, and publish their findings in the interest of transparency and accountability.
It also asked the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs to provide a comprehensive public response to the questions raised in the FIJ reports, stressing that explaining the use of public funds was an obligation of public service.
On press freedom, the organisation warned against the use of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act to punish journalists for public-interest reporting.
It urged the National Assembly to review the cyberstalking provisions of the Act to ensure their alignment with Sections 22 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The CSO cited the cases of Tega Oghenedoro, publisher of Secret Reporters, who spent 61 days in detention in 2025, and Stanley Ugagbe, a journalist with the same publication, who was remanded at Kuje following his arraignment in July 2026 before securing bail on October 2.
Although acknowledging differences in the circumstances of the cases, it said their recurrence raised broader concerns about the use of criminal proceedings and detention in response to investigative journalism.
“In a constitutional democracy, the answer to questions raised by investigative journalism is transparency, evidence and institutional accountability,” it said.
