Beninese police arrested Ojoduma, founder of the Africa Views channel, which covers African cities, when he was crossing Benin’s northern border into Burkina Faso at the town of Porga, with a camera, drone, and laptop, according to Ojoduma’s wife, Priscilla Mathew, who spoke to CPJ, and court documents, reviewed by CPJ.
“Authorities in Benin must immediately release journalist Mathew Ojoduma, who has already wasted nine months of his life in jail on a spurious terrorism charge,” said CPJ Africa Director Angela Quintal. “The Nigerian government must also step up and act to ensure fair treatment of its citizen, rather than keeping silent in the face of this heinous abuse of press freedom.”
On February 13, Ojoduma was charged with membership of a terrorist organization, and his case was heard on May 19, according to a judgment issued that day by the Special Court for the Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET), reviewed by CPJ, and Ojoduma’s lawyer, who declined to be named, citing fear of reprisal.
The judgment said Ojoduma was “suspected of being in intelligence with terrorist groups” — a charge he denied — because of his “insistence” on traveling via Porga, “despite the prevailing climate of insecurity” there. The court referred the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office as its criminal nature was beyond its competence.
Northern Benin has been grappling with an increase in violent extremist attacks since 2021, as Islamic State-linked insurgents have taken control of swathes of neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger and, beyond them, Mali. Mathew said her husband intended to travel through Burkina Faso to Mali and Senegal on a reporting trip.
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