Nigerian Police Arraign Journalist, Dare Akogun, Brother Detained Over WhatsApp Chats Accusing Kwara Governor’s Aide Of Fraud, Fire Gunshots, Teargas at Peaceful Protesters

Date of Occurrence

October 13, 2022
State/Country

Kwara, Nigeria

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Description

The Nigeria Police Force, Kwara State command, has charged a journalist with Sobi FM station, Dare Akogun, and his brother, Abdulrasheed Akogun, to a Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ilorin over some WhatsApp engagements indicting the Chief Press Secretary to Kwara State Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye.

SaharaReporters reported on Thursday that the duo was detained by the police

It was gathered that Akogun and his brother made some comments on a WhatsApp Platform, “Kwara Commission”, claiming the CPS to the governor facilitated the payment of N15 million to some candidates in the recent Nigerian Union of Journalists’ election to influence the outcome.

This claim was described by Ajakaye as untrue and fake news.

Hence, the police invited Akogun and his brother after receiving a petition from Ajakaye for allegedly inciting disturbance, spreading injurious falsehood, and being responsible for criminal defamation.

However, after Akogun and his brother honored the invitation, the police failed to release them and detained them without a justifiable cause.

Source: Sahara Reporters

Actions Taken

Journalists Released after Week in Detention for Posts on WhatsApp

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) welcomes the release from detention of journalists Abdulrasheed Akogun and Dare Akogun, two Nigerian journalists harassed over their critical posts on a WhatsApp page.

The journalists, who are brothers, were granted bail by a magistrates’ court in Ilorin, Kwara State, on October 19, 2022, after six days in detention.

Dare Akogun, a journalist with the privately-owned Sobi 101.9FM, was arrested on October 13, 2022, alongside Abdulrasheed Akogun, who is also a journalist with the news website Fresh Insight, after the two made WhatsApp posts alleging corruption against an aide to the State governor. The arrest was on the orders of Rafiu Ajakaye, the Chief Press Secretary to the Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.