Journalist, Muttaqah Kumasy Two journalists with Emirates Online, Muttaka Khumasy and Ibrahim Alhassan Suleja, have been arreste...
Journalist, Muttaqah Kumasy
Two journalists with Emirates Online, Muttaka Khumasy and Ibrahim Alhassan Suleja, have been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force following the publication of a report alleging secondary school certificate forgery involving the Chairman of Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, Hon. Isyaku Bawa Naibi.
The journalists were taken into custody on Friday in Suleja, Niger State, shortly after the report was published. Police operatives later transferred them to the Force Intelligence Department (FID) in Abuja, where they are currently being detained.
Sources familiar with the matter said the arrests have intensified public scrutiny over the authenticity of the local government chairman’s academic credentials, which formed the basis of the report.
As of the time of filing this report, Muttaka and Suleja remain in detention at the FID, Abuja, with no official statement from the police on the specific charges against them.
The development has reignited concerns over press freedom in Nigeria, particularly the use of law enforcement agencies to detain journalists over reports on alleged misconduct by public officials.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has repeatedly criticised Nigerian authorities for the harassment and intimidation of media practitioners. The organisation has cited past incidents, including the arrest of Peoples Gazette journalists over a report involving former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd).
Cases of certificate forgery have continued to surface across the country in recent years. In 2020, police in Niger State arrested four suspects for allegedly printing fake certificates of the state College of Education, Minna. Similarly, between 2015 and 2017, no fewer than 20 persons were reportedly arrested over foreign certificate forgery.
Media advocates argue that the detention of journalists for carrying out their professional duties is part of a broader pattern, renewing calls for legal reforms to decriminalise defamation and strengthen protections for press freedom in Nigeria.
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