Former BBC editor Soyinka released by DSS after 6 hours in detention

The Department of State Services (DSS) has released Adejuwon Soyinka, former BBC Pidgin Service editor and current West Africa editor for The Conversation Africa, after detaining him for several hours at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Soyinka was arrested by DSS officers upon returning from the UK on Sunday morning.

Although the exact reason for his detention was not initially disclosed. DSS spokesman Peter Afunanya initially denied knowledge of Soyinka’s detention when contacted, but later confirmed that Soyinka was being held at the request of another agency.

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The International Press Institute (IPI) of Nigeria, an organization of editors, media executives and communications experts, stepped in, facilitating Soyinka’s release.

The incident adds to a worrying trend of growing hostility towards journalists in Nigeria. In March, Segun Olatunji, a former editor at FirstNews, was arrested in Lagos. In May, police detained Daniel Ojukwu of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) for 10 days, and Jamil Mabai, a freelance journalist, was detained by the Katsina Hisbah religious police.

In addition, the Nigerian Police National Cyber ​​Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has been involved in the detention of a number of journalists and whistleblowers in response to petitions filed against them.

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