SSS blames journalist Adejuwon Soyinka’s arrest on mistaken identity, releases seized passport

Nigeria’s secret police, the State Security Service (SSS) on Friday, 30 August, returned the seized passport of multiple-award winning investigative journalist Adejuwon Soyinka, blaming his arrest on “possible mistaken identity.”

Inibehe Effiong, human rights activist and public interest lawyer, accompanied Mr Soyinka on a visit to the SSS office in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday to retrieve the seized passport.

Reacting to the development, Mr Effiong said “the secret police’s decision to blame the whole incident on possible mistaken identity did not come to me as a surprise.”

The lawyer did not say if his client would sue the SSS for the unwarranted violation of his fundamental human rights as a result of professional incompetence and recklessness.

Mr Soyinka, two-time Emmy nominated investigative journalist and West Africa Regional Editor at The Conversation Africa, was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International airport, shortly after arriving on a Virgin Atlantic flight from London, UK on Sunday, 25 August.

The pioneer editor of the BBC Pidgin Service was subsequently held and interrogated for about 8 hours at both the DSS airport command and the agency’s Ikoyi office. He was later released on self recognisance while his passport was withheld.

The SSS’ first explanation for the arrest was that Mr Soyinka’s name was placed on its watchlist on the request of an unnamed government agency. It later blamed the entire saga on a possible mistaken identity.

Reacting to the latest development Saturday morning, the President of the Nigerian chapter of the International Press (IPI Nigeria), Musikilu Mojeed, said his organisation was shocked that the SSS could violate the rights of a law-abiding citizen the way it has done.

“IPI Nigeria will consult with Mr Soyinka to decide how to respond to this unbelievable demonstration of incompetence by operatives of a key intelligence agency,” Mr Mojeed said.

“There must be accountability in this matter. All those involved in the unfortunate saga must answer for their roles. A good starting point is for the SSS to issue a formal apology to Mr Soyinka for the inconveniences and psychological anguish caused him.

“Also, we will like a commitment from the agency that it will henceforth desist from exhibiting this kind of reckless, undemocratic and unprofessional behaviour towards law abiding citizens.”

Mr Soyinka’s arrest and detention by the SSS are characteristic of how security forces in Nigeria routinely harass journalists for the flimsiest reasons.

In June, the police summoned a PREMIUM TIMES journalist, Emmanuel Agbo, over a yet-to-be-published report that he was working on.

Early this month,  on different occasions, operatives of the Nigerian police and the SSS fired live ammunition and tear gas at journalists and peaceful protesters in a brutal effort to disperse the recent anti-government #EndBadGovernance protests in Abuja.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that at least 56 journalists were assaulted or harassed by security forces or unidentified citizens while covering the recent anti-government #EndBadGovernance demonstrations.