Nigeria: Price for Exposing Corruption - Kwara Newsroom Under Siege

Their arrest followed a two-part investigation into financial mismanagement at the polytechnic.

INFORMANT247, a digital newsroom, has faced intimidation for exposing corruption in Kwara State. In February 2024, Abdul Jimoh Muhammed, the Rector of Kwara State Polytechnic, filed a petition with the police. This led to the arrest of Editor-in-Chief Salihu Ayatullahi and Managing Director Adisa-Jaji Azeez.

Aminat Adebayo Jaji was pregnant on February 4, 2024. Her husband received a call from Ilorin police headquarters. They informed him about a petition against him and his colleagues related to their investigative reports. Aminat became anxious when she learned it involved the Rector's complaint. Her husband reassured her that they would be fine.

Being five months pregnant made Aminat more anxious. She relied on her husband's promise for comfort. They planned to stay in touch by phone until he stopped responding. Worried, she left work early but was denied access to see him at the station. This caused her blood pressure to rise.

Before going to the police, Azeez and Ayatullahi contacted their lawyer Muhammad Edun. He filed a human rights application to prevent their detention. Despite this, they were detained on February 5, 2024.

When Aminat returned home, family members were already gathered there anxiously waiting for news. Under pressure, she revealed that her husband and his colleagues had been locked up.

On February 6, 2024, the journalists faced charges of criminal conspiracy and defamation in court. Their lawyer argued that cybercrime cases fall under federal jurisdiction. The court granted them bail and dismissed the case due to lack of jurisdiction.

The arrests were part of at least five incidents involving journalists in Nigeria in 2024 alone. This reflects growing threats against media professionals despite government promises to uphold press freedom.

A January 2025 report noted that attacks on journalists accounted for over 71% of press freedom violations in Nigeria.

The original investigation began with "Just a paint job: Inside Kwara Polytechnic's shoddy project commissioning," published in November 2023. After this report, Azeez said authorities tried to stop further investigations.

The Rector attempted to persuade him not to continue with the second part of the series but they published it anyway in February 2024.

Ayatullahi stated they aimed to expose systemic corruption within the institution through ten planned investigations.

After publishing their second report, they were invited by police for questioning but ended up being detained overnight instead.

Ayatullahi described their cell as dark and cramped with no light or bed available.

They were charged with criminal conspiracy and defamation but granted bail after an ex-parte motion was rejected by magistrate court due to lack of jurisdiction.

Despite this dismissal, new charges were filed at Federal High Court naming the Federal Government as complainant.

Their lawyer called these refiled charges an abuse of legal process meant to intimidate journalists.

He emphasized that such tactics send a chilling message about exposing corruption leading only to legal battles rather than accountability.

When contacted for comment about ongoing legal matters regarding Informant247’s case, Rector Muhammed initially did not respond but later urged patience until court outcomes are known.

Before their arrest, Informant247 was actively investigating issues impacting their community according to Ayatullahi.

Though operations were disrupted by arrests, they chose to deepen investigations instead.

Over eleven months during ongoing trials at Federal High Court they've published over ten reports including four additional stories on Kwara Polytechnic.

Ayatullahi expressed how adversity united them more firmly around protecting press freedom.

Busola Ajibola from CJID highlighted challenges facing press freedom including misuse of cybercrime laws against journalists.

She called for stronger protections ensuring journalists can work without fear of retaliation or harassment.

Legal practitioner Abdulwasiu Mujeeb noted no law criminalizes demanding accountability from public officials.

He criticized misuse of Section 24 from Cybercrime Act intended for public safety threats rather than silencing journalism efforts demanding transparency.

This report was produced collaboratively between ICIR and CJID focusing on documenting press freedom issues within Nigeria’s landscape today.