Amnesty International has condemned the arrest, detention and four-year prison sentence imposed on 23-year-old journalist Farida...
Amnesty International has condemned the arrest, detention and four-year prison sentence imposed on 23-year-old journalist Farida Isiak in Kaduna State, describing the action as vindictive and an attempt to silence critical reporting on alleged police abuses.
In a statement, the international human rights organisation alleged that Isiak, a reporter with Nagarta Radio in Kaduna, was arrested and punished for a Facebook post criticising the alleged unlawful treatment of her parents by police officers.
Amnesty International said Isiak was taken into custody at about 10 p.m. on Monday, October 20, by officers under the command of the Divisional Police Officer of Mararaban Jos, Usman Adamu.
According to the organisation, the incident originated from a disagreement between Isiak’s mother and a neighbour over ₦100 change from a charcoal sale.
It alleged that police officers initially arrested her mother and subsequently detained her father when he went to secure her release, using the detention of her parents to compel the journalist to report to the police station.
Amnesty International further alleged that, upon arriving at the station, Isiak was accused of defaming the police in a Facebook post in which she criticised their handling of her parents’ case.
The organisation said the journalist complied with the police’s demands to delete the post and apologise in the hope of securing her parents’ release. However, she allegedly remained in custody and was subsequently taken before a Sharia court in Kawo, where she was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment or a fine of ₦1.75 million on a defamation charge.
The organisation criticised the handling of the case, alleging that the proceedings failed to address the initial police conduct and the circumstances that led to the journalist’s arrest.
“Sentencing a journalist to four years in prison after a sham trial is a travesty of justice,” Amnesty International said, condemning what it described as an abuse of power and the weaponisation of the judicial system to suppress freedom of expression.
The organisation argued that detaining a journalist’s parents to compel her to surrender to the police was unlawful and contrary to the principles of the rule of law.
It also maintained that demanding accountability for police conduct was a constitutional right and should not expose journalists to intimidation or punitive legal action.
Amnesty International called on the Kaduna State Police Command and relevant Nigerian judicial authorities to secure Isiak’s immediate release, drop the charges against her and cancel the fine imposed by the court.
It also urged the Nigeria Police Force to launch a full and independent investigation into the conduct of the officers allegedly involved in the detention of the journalist and her parents.
The organisation further called on Nigerian authorities to end the use of defamation charges and judicial processes to harass journalists, warning that such actions threaten press freedom and the right to freedom of expression.
The allegations and account of the proceedings in this report are based on Amnesty International’s statement. The police and judicial authorities’ responses were not included in the statement provided.
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