The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has expressed his rage over reported arrest and detention of a journalist, Sodeeq Atanda, his wife and 9-Months-Old Baby in Lagos.
The IGP ordered the sanction of the head of a police unit implicated in the arrest of the senior reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).
This followed public criticism over police conduct and press freedom during the operation.
According to reports, Atanda’s wife, Adenike Atanda and the baby were earlier taken to a police station in Owutu, where they were allegedly detained for several hours as “bait” to get her husband arrested.
Adenike said she was instructed to call Atanda and tell him that their child was ill and had been taken to the hospital.
“When they realised my husband was no longer far from the house, the policemen drove me and my baby and me to a street not far from our home. And when they saw him, they handcuffed him and took him away. That was when they released my baby and me,” she told FIJ.
FIJ said Atanda was immediately taken from the area to the Force Headquarters annexe, Obalende, Lagos, where he was under police custody for several hours before his eventual release just before midnight.
The organisation linked the incident to an earlier attempt to invite Atanda for questioning. According to FIJ, on November 26, a person identified as ‘Omo Eleniyan’, who claimed to be attached to the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit at the Force Headquarters, contacted the journalist via WhatsApp.
“I’m a police officer attached to the IGP Monitoring Unit, Lagos Annexe. An approved petition was referred to my department from the office of the Inspector-General of Police for further investigation, and your name has been mentioned and alleged. That was why you have been invited, sir. Thanks for cooperation and understanding,” the message read.
FIJ said Atanda responded by providing the organisation’s official email address and requested that any formal invitation be sent through that channel.
However, the sender reportedly replied, “The invitation is for you, not for the organisation.”
When Atanda insisted that such communication should go through FIJ, the organisation said the sender responded, “Alright, sir. No problem.”
FIJ added that no further communication was received until Monday evening, when Adenike and the couple’s infant were detained. They were released on Monday evening, shortly after police operatives arrested her husband.
Sodeeq was later released on order of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbtokun.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, noted that IGP, upon learning of the situation, frowned at the development and ordered the immediate release of the journalist.
Hundeyin said, “ I was with him last night when Mojeed Musikilu of the International Press Institute reached out to me about the arrest. I promptly informed the IGP, and he was miffed”.
He directed that the head of the unit be contacted to release the journalist immediately which he further updated Mojeed accordingly.
“The IGP was particularly angry that this came up at a time when the Police had pledged and are taking tangible steps to ensure press freedom. He equally ordered that the head of that unit be sanctioned for his conduct.
“IGP Egbetokun does not want and would not condone any setback to our support for press freedom,” Hundeyin added.
