Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has asked a court to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of Fisayo Soyombo, founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), over reports concerning a senior aide to President Bola Tinubu.
The request is linked to a case involving publications about Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDGs).
The police chief had, in 2024, filed a 12-count charge against Soyombo and Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with FIJ, accusing them of cyberbullying and criminal defamation.
The charges followed reports published by the investigative journalism platform concerning the presidential aide.
The latest move by the police to secure an arrest warrant against Soyombo marks a fresh development in the legal dispute, which has drawn attention to the relationship between investigative journalism and the enforcement of cybercrime and defamation laws in Nigeria.
However, details of the court proceedings and the specific grounds for the latest application were not contained in the information made available.
