Court Remands FIJ Journalist Daniel Ojukwu in Kuje

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A correspondent of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Mr Daniel Ojukwu, has been remanded in Kuje Correctional and Custodial Centre by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The journo was sent to prison on Tuesday by the judge pending the hearing of his bail application slated for Tuesday, December 1, 2026.

Mr Ojukwu was brought before the judge over investigative reports he did about a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.

The series of reports, published on FIJ, a digital news platform, between November 2023 and January 2024, claimed that Mrs Orelope-Adefulire, who served as a Senior Special Assistant to the late President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), paid about N147.1 million to Enseno Global Ventures Limited through her office for a skill acquisition centre and classrooms at Ajeromi Primary School in Lagos.

The reports stated that during a visit to the school in October 2023, there was no visible evidence that the funds were used for the purpose they were paid for, as the facility was dilapidated and understaffed.

After the reports, Mrs Orelope-Adefulire petitioned the police, and on May 1, 2024, officers of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) abducted the reporter in Lagos and he was initially taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, Lagos, before being transferred to Abuja.

He was detained at the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Area 10, Abuja, over allegations of defaming Mrs Orelope-Adefulire, but was released on May 10, 2024, after pressure from the public.

At the court yesterday, after pleading not guilty to the 12-count charges bordering on cyberstalking and criminal defamation, Justice Abdulmalik ordered Mr Ojukwu’s remand.

The police, which brought the matter to court, could not get a warrant of arrest for the publisher of FIJ, Mr Fisayo Soyombo, who is the second defendant.

According to the judge, the court could not issue a bench warrant against a defendant who had never been brought before it.