Daniel Ojukwu, a Nigerian investigative journalist working with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), has been remanded in custody over reports published between November 2023 and January 2024.
The reports examined public expenditure by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals. The reports also detailed how the officials paid over 147 million $109,000 to a company identified as an Abuja-based restaurant to construct classrooms and a skills acquisition center at a primary school in Lagos.
Ojukwu's investigation found no evidence of the construction at the designated site, and raised questions about the company's track record in construction.
The police accused Ojukwu alongside FIJ founder Fisayo Soyombo of cyberstalking and criminal defamation against Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, who served as the Senior Special Assistant to former President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals.
The Federal High Court in Abuja ordered Ojukwu's remand at the Kuje Correctional Facility after he pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts. The court adjourned the case until December 1, when his bail application is will be heard.
Media and civil society organizations, including Amnesty International, have condemned his detention, raising concerns about the use of judicial processes to intimidate journalists and undermine freedom of expression and press freedom in the country.