igerian journalist and publisher of Secret Reporters, Tega Oghenedoro, famously known as Fejiro Oliver, was on Friday seized in Abuja by the police and flown to Delta State ostensibly on the orders of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Senator Ede Dafinone, Peoples Gazette can confirm.
Mr Oliver was arrested at his office in Abuja and immediately flown to Asaba, the Delta State capital, aboard a private jet linked to the governor. He was handed over to operatives at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), where he has since been detained.
The journalist, known for his hard-hitting investigative pieces, had recently published a report critical of Mr Oborevwori and Mr Dafinone. The publication, sources said, triggered the abduction.
“He was not treated as a citizen exercising his right to free expression,” one source told The Gazette. “Instead, he was treated like a fugitive. They didn’t even bother to disguise it — a sitting governor and a senator essentially commandeered the police to do their dirty work.”
The Gazette learned that Mr Oliver has been denied access to his lawyers since arriving in Asaba, a deliberate attempt at breaking his spirit and frustrating his defence ahead of his expected arraignment on Monday.
It was learnt that the police are relying on the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015, to detain and prosecute the journalist.
As of Saturday, Mr Oliver remained in custody at FCID Asaba under tight police watch. His arraignment on Monday is expected to spark legal fireworks, with his lawyers vowing to challenge both the legality of the charges and the manner of his arrest.
Mr Oborevwori and Mr Dafinone have not publicly commented on the matter. When contacted, the spokesperson for the Delta Police command, Bright Edafe, said he was not privy to the development, citing his absence from duty. “I don’t have the details now because I’m not around,” Mr Edafe told our correspondent.
Spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force, Benjamin Humdeyin, did not respond to inquiries as of press time.
