The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this clarification while speaking at a joint briefing by Security, Defence, and Response agencies organized by the Strategic Communications Interagency Policy Committee of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in Abuja. He stated that the police were not preventing journalists from performing their duties.
Recently, the country has seen a series of crackdowns on journalists due to the implementation of the act by the police.
The former editor of First News, Segun Olatunji; Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism; Dayo Aiyetan, Executive Director of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting; and Nurudeen Akewushola, an investigative journalist with the platform, were among the latest victims of the contentious act.
According to the Force Spokesperson, “It’s not true that we are applying the CyberCrime Act to witch-hunt or oppress you or to subvert press freedom in Nigeria. I am not saying you should not be a whistleblower, but if you want to be one, you must get your facts right.”
He noted that the police operate under numerous laws and could prosecute journalists guilty of publishing defamatory reports using any of these laws.
Adejobi said, “Defamation of character is defined under the CyberCrime Act, and the criminal laws of this country define defamation as an offense. If somebody has published something wrong against you, as a Nigerian, you have the right to take it up.
“As a trained police officer, I may decide not to use the CyberCrime Act to prosecute you. As a trained policeman, I must be able to lay my hands on many laws to nail you if I want to. Forget the fact that the NSA has called for the full implementation of the act; the police can lay their hands on any law to prosecute anybody.”
The Force Spokesperson added that journalists do not enjoy immunity, noting that a journalist is “criminally liable” once accused of a crime.
According to him, “Mind you, the fact that somebody is a journalist does not grant him immunity over certain things. You are criminally liable once an offense has been laid against you, and the police have the duty to take it up.”
He urged journalists invited by the force to honor the invitations and inform his office.
Adejobi said, “Let me put it on record that if a petition has been written against you as a certified journalist, you are to honor the invitation and get across to the office of the Force spokesperson. Some of those you claim have been victimized have not contacted me. Everybody is a journalist; we practice citizen journalism in Nigeria.”
Adejobi stated that the police have not yet arrested any journalists from mainstream media.
He said, “The fact is the police have not arrested anyone from the mainstream media. Most of these bloggers are always running afoul of the law because they want to break the news. You can’t break the news without confirmation from the parties involved. You need to balance your report. Once you are invited to come and clarify a report, don’t run away. We are human beings like you.”
He criticized media houses for using the term “abduction” to describe the arrest of journalists, saying that the police do not abduct; rather, they arrest.
According to him, “We don’t abduct; we arrest. If the arrest is wrong, you tell us why the arrest is wrong, and we will tell you why it is right. We face challenges because many of you don’t understand the legal framework.”
Adejobi, however, said that when a journalist is arrested, his colleagues cannot stand surety for him.
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He maintained that the police would not release such a journalist unless a “substantive surety” is provided.
According to him, “Once you have been arrested, your statement is taken under caution. Under the law, you are to be granted bail to a substantive surety, and that is another problem. Don’t tell me your colleague in your office will stand surety for you. No. If you are not a substantive surety, the police will not release anybody to you.”
Adejobi stated that the force is not mandated to extend an invitation to a suspect during the investigation, describing such a gesture as an honor.
He said, “I want to clarify that we are not obliged to send an invitation to a suspect in the first instance. It is just out of respect. No law says you must invite somebody before you carry out your investigation. We can only honor you by extending an invitation to you. Where you don’t honor the invitation, we go to court to get a warrant. With that warrant, we can even declare you wanted and arrest you anywhere.
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