Police in Kwara State Detain Journalist on Orders of Polytechnic Rector

Salihu Ayatullahi and Adisa-Jaji Azeez honored an invitation by the Police and ended up being detained. The journalists’ offense, according to the police, was that they had published a false story about the Rector of the Kwara Polytechnic, Engr. Abdul Jimoh Muhammed. The accusation related to a publication by the two in which they claimed that the Polytechnic rector and two others had commissioned uncompleted projects and understated the institution’s healthy financial status in order to justify his request for state support.

Detained at the Police Headquarters in Illorin, Kwara State, the journalists were dragged before Magistrate Monisola Kamson on February 6 on charges of criminal conspiracy, cyber stalking and injurious falsehood contrary to sections 27(1) B, 24(1)(B) of the cybercrime (prohibition and prevention) act, 2015 and section 393 of the penal code. This follows a complaint from Rector Jimoh Muhammed.

Despite a passionate plea from the prosecutor to have the journalists remanded, the presiding Magistrate, Monisola Kamson, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N250,000 and two sureties each, and adjourned the case to February 13.