Amnesty International has condemned the reported invasion of the premises of JKD TV/Hamada Radio Network in Millennium City, Kad...
Amnesty International has condemned the reported invasion of the premises of JKD TV/Hamada Radio Network in Millennium City, Kaduna, by armed police officers, describing the incident as unlawful and outrageous.
In a statement issued on Friday, September 11, 2026, the international human rights organisation said the police raid resulted in the arrest of the station’s General Manager, Charles Abah, and a security guard.
Amnesty International said the police told the station that they had instructions to arrest journalist Zainab Salihu Yabagi over a video explainer produced by JKD Radio and Television concerning Ibrahim Kabir Masari, Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs.
According to the organisation, the Kaduna State Police Command had previously declared Yabagi wanted, while her husband had also been arrested.
Amnesty International described the targeting of JKD TV/Hamada Radio Network as part of what it characterised as a wider pattern of attempts to create a climate of fear within Nigerian newsrooms and make it more difficult for journalists to carry out their duties.
“Targeting independent media is solely aimed at depriving the people of the opportunity to receive fair and objective reporting of issues affecting their lives,” the organisation said.
It stressed that public officials should remain subject to scrutiny and criticism in the public interest, regardless of their positions.
“No government official — no matter his status — is above scrutiny and criticism in the interest of the public,” Amnesty International said.
The organisation concluded that any attack on the media constitutes an attack on freedom, calling attention to the need to protect journalists and independent media organisations from intimidation and arbitrary actions.
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