Following the arrest and detention of the union’s secretary, Olalekan Akindoju, the Osun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the International Press Center (IPC) obtained an apology from the Osun State Police Command. DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, the Police Public Relations Officer, delivered the apology during a live program on Rave 91.7FM, speaking on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Gotan. Ojelabi stated that the police command regretted the incident and had started an investigation into the actions of the operatives involved in the operation.
He issued the apology to Mr Akindoju, the Osun NUJ, Rave 91.7FM/WSTV and media across the state.
“We apologise to Mr Akindoju, the NUJ, Rave 91.7FM/WSTV and the entire journalism profession over the unlawful detention. The cops implicated were already being investigated,” Ojelabi stated.
The apology follows numerous reactions to the arrest of Akindoju, who is also the Head of News and Current Affairs at Rave 91.7FM/WSTV.
He was arrested at his apartment in Osogbo in the early hours of June 11 by armed police officers.
Narrating the incident, Akindoju said he was asleep until he heard unusual movements outside his apartment at about 6 a.m
He claimed that several people had entered his compound by jumping over the fence and claiming to be police officers.
He claimed that before making an arrest, the officers disregarded his official identity card and his explanation that he was a journalist.
“I showed my identity card and identified myself as a journalist, but I was still arrested,” he recalled.
Akindoju went on to say that once his identity card and phone were seized, he was handcuffed and brought to the Osun State Police Command Headquarters in Osogbo, where he was held for several hours.
After interventions by coworkers, the NUJ, and other relevant parties, he was eventually freed.
Afterwards, the police clarified that the arrest was the consequence of a case of mistaken identity during an operation aimed at local suspected criminals.
Media organisations, civil society organisations, and proponents of press freedom all criticised the incident, calling the detention a breach of journalists’ rights and professional freedom.
In response, the Osun NUJ called the detention “unacceptable” and requested that the Nigeria Police Force publicly apologise to Akindoju, his family, Rave 91.7FM/WSTV, and the journalists.
profession for what it described as the incident’s shame and reputational harm.
In a same vein, the IPC urged the police authorities to guarantee responsibility for the officers participating in the operation, denounced the imprisonment, and demanded steps to shield journalists from harassment, intimidation, and illegal arrests through its Safety and Protection of Journalists Hub.
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