The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), at the Kuje Correctional Centre over investigative reports concerning the expenditure and projects of the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals.
Ojukwu was remanded on Tuesday, November 10, after pleading not guilty to a 12-count charge bordering on alleged cyberstalking and criminal defamation involving Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, a former Senior Special Assistant to late President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals.
The presiding judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, ordered that the journalist remain in custody pending the hearing of his bail application, which was adjourned until December 1, 2026.
During the proceedings, the prosecution requested Ojukwu’s remand after the charges were read to him and he entered his plea.
His defence counsel, however, drew the court’s attention to a pending bail application and urged the judge to consider it.
The court declined to hear the application, explaining that it had only been filed on Monday and was not yet ripe for hearing.
The defence subsequently asked the court to allow Ojukwu to continue enjoying the administrative bail earlier granted by the police, arguing that he had complied with its conditions and had not breached any of them.
Justice Abdulmalik rejected the request, noting that the charge had been served on the defendant long before the bail application was filed.
The prosecution also informed the court that Fisayo Soyombo, FIJ founder and the second defendant in the case, was at large. It applied for a bench warrant to compel his appearance.
The judge refused the application, holding that Soyombo had never been brought before the court and that a bench warrant could not be issued in the circumstances.
12-count charge over investigative reports
The charge, dated September 19, 2024, accuses Ojukwu and Soyombo of cyberstalking and criminal defamation under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, and the Criminal Code Act.
The allegations stem from investigative reports published on FIJ’s website between 2023 and 2024, which questioned contracts and expenditure by the office then headed by Orelope-Adefulire.
One of the reports, published on November 7, 2023, questioned an alleged payment of about ₦147.1 million to a restaurant for the construction of classrooms and a skills acquisition centre at Ajeromi Primary School in Lagos.
The publication raised questions about the contract and the state of the school. FIJ reported that a visit to the facility in October 2023 revealed a dilapidated and understaffed school, with no visible evidence of the reported construction work.
Another report, published on December 3, 2023, questioned a ₦47.5 million contract allegedly awarded on the request of former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun.
The charge also cited a November 9, 2023 report concerning the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s forfeiture of ₦241 million linked to the SDGs office, as well as a January 21, 2024 publication which questioned the functionality of solar panels installed at classroom blocks.
According to the prosecution, the publications exposed Orelope-Adefulire to fear of death, violence or bodily harm. The defendants are also accused of knowingly publishing defamatory material.
The allegations have not been established in court. Ojukwu pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts.
Journalist was detained in 2024
The latest court order comes more than two years after Ojukwu was arrested by officers of the Nigeria Police Force Intelligence Response Team on May 1, 2024, over the same investigative reports.
He was picked up at Isheri-Olofin in Lagos and initially taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti before being transferred to Abuja four days later.
He was subsequently detained at the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre and the Force Criminal Investigation Department facility in Area 10, Abuja.
Ojukwu was released on May 10, 2024, following public criticism and pressure from rights groups. However, the police reportedly retained his international passport and required him to report periodically to the cybercrime centre in connection with the investigation.
The case has now proceeded to formal trial proceedings at the Federal High Court.
With the court declining to extend his police administrative bail, Ojukwu will remain at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing of his bail application on December 1, 2026.
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