The hashtag #KeepFisayoSafe is currently trending on Twitter Nigeria over concerns that Fisayo Soyombo, the journalist whose undercover stories exposed the depth of corruption in Nigerian police cells and prison may be arrested by the Nigerian authorities.
The first instalment of the three-part investigation by Soyombo, a former editor of The Cable and a contributor to Al Jazeera, detailed how Nigerian policemen “pervert the course of justice in their quest for ill-gotten money”.
Nigerian civil society leaders and activists on Tuesday asked the government to ensure the safety of Soyombo who spent two weeks in detention — five days in a police cell and eight as an inmate in Ikoyi Prison — to track corruption in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, beginning from the moment of arrest by the police to the point of release by the prison.
To experience the workings of the system in its raw state, Soyombo — adopting the pseudonym Ojo Olajumoke — feigned an offence for which he was arrested and detained in police custody, arraigned in court and eventually remanded in prison.
Nigerians on Twitter are using the hashtag #KeepFisayoSafe to demand the protection of the journalist over the revelations of his investigation.
Enough is Enough (EiE) and Chidi Odinkalu are among the citizens demanding the protection of Soyombo.
See some Twitter reactions:
“He is to be charged to court & prosecuted under Section 29 of the Nigeria Correctional Service Act”.
These moves against future investigative stories are actually attacks by the state on democratic governance & the authority of the citizenry.#KeepFisayoSafe#PressFreedom pic.twitter.com/AhfCJmg4VK— EiE Nigeria (@EiENigeria) October 22, 2019
You cannot claim to fight corruption, yet turn around to witchhunt a journalist who went undercover (at risk to his own life) to expose the biggest corruption racket within your own law enforcement agency. It shows your corruption fight is nothing but a fraud! #keepfisayosafe
— Ayò Bánkólé (@AyoBankole) October 22, 2019
The Criminal Justice System is rotten. This is no news to Nigerians and the authorities themselves and the reaction to findings of investigative journalists as well as advocates of reforms must never be belligerent. The Nigeria Correctional Service must get this! #KeepFisayoSafe
— SEGA L’éveilleur®???? (@segalink) October 22, 2019
For this undercover investigation – Nigerian investigative Journalist, Fisayo is already receiving threats of arrests #JournalismIsNotACrime #KeepFisayoSafe https://t.co/V7FzvOCKuw
— Mercy (@AbangMercy) October 22, 2019
When Nigerian journalists go undercover, they end up with their lives endangered. We should be enraged about the decay in the prison system in Nigeria, instead we are faced with possible threats to Fisayo’s life. #KeepFisayoSafe
Cc @AmnestyNigeria @KadariaAhmed pic.twitter.com/wGivgcWye2— Ndi Kato (@YarKafanchan) October 22, 2019
First it was @MrFixNigeria, now @fisayosoyombo
For every single moment, our bright and brave minds attempt at making our society better, we reward them with threats.
In all we do, we need to #keepfisayosafe
— Àdùfé (@EmperorDami) October 22, 2019
Fisayo Soyombo will most likely be arrested but the scariest thing is that he’ll be arrested and nothing will happen just like Sowore and the others.
That’s how messed up this nation is.
Apparently it’s still a crime to expose a crime in Nigeria.#keepfisayosafe— Adunni Adaora Achebe (@Adunni_Achebe) October 22, 2019
It’s a sad day when journalists are hauled into jail for exposing the rot in society. @fisayosoyombo should be feted & his reports used to expunge the corrupt amongst us but it seems it is easier to shut him up than to do right by Nigeria.#KeepFisayoSafe#JournalismIsNotACrime
— Chioma Agwuegbo (@ChiomaChuka) October 22, 2019
It’s a sad day when journalists are hauled into jail for exposing the rot in society. @fisayosoyombo should be feted & his reports used to expunge the corrupt amongst us but it seems it is easier to shut him up than to do right by Nigeria.#KeepFisayoSafe#JournalismIsNotACrime
— Chioma Agwuegbo (@ChiomaChuka) October 22, 2019
Why am I not surprised at hearing that there’re moves by predictable ppl to frame up @fisayosoyombo for his groundbreaking investigative work on #Nigeria‘s criminal justice underworld?!
— Chidi Odinkalu (@ChidiOdinkalu) October 21, 2019
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