Army releases FIJ founder Fisayo Soyombo after three days in detention
FIJ confirmed the release of its founder in a post shared on X on Friday evening.
By Idris Temidayo
The military authorities have released Fisayo Soyombo, the founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), who has been in detention for three days.
FIJ confirmed the release of its founder in a post shared on X on Friday evening.
“We can confirm that our founder @fisayosoyombo has now been released by @HQNigerianArmy, following the intense media campaign you all mounted,” the post reads.
“FIJ acknowledges the Nigerian Army’s deliberate mischaracterisation to suggest an involvement in “illegal oil bunkering”.
“FIJ will also address this statement appropriately. Our immediate concern is regarding the safety of ‘Fisayo Soyombo in view of extensive information sharing with the Army on his fieldwork during the period of his detention.
“We are assessing the situation and hoping that his safety will not be jeopardised after release.”
Earlier, the foundation announced that Soyombo was arrested and detained by the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers state.
In a reaction, the army said the journalist was arrested at an illegal oil bunkering site.
Danjuma Danjuma, acting deputy director of public relations at the 6 Division of the Army, said news of the journalist’s arrest has been “misleading”.
He said intelligence recently revealed the existence of a “notorious gang of oil thieves noted for bursting pipelines and illegal connections for oil theft in the region”.
Danjuma said troops subsequently trailed the criminals to an illegal oil bunkering site.
