Adejuwon Soyinka, an investigative journalist and regional editor of The Conversation Africa, has been released.
Soyinka was taken into custody by Department of State Services agents on Sunday at Lagos’s Muritala Muhammed International Airport.
Soyinka was picked up soon after arriving from the UK, according to a distress message from one of his friends.
The friend said in the message that Soyinka had been held incommunicado and that there had been no explanation for his arrest.
The message read, “Adejuwon Soyinka has been detained by officers of the Department of State Security at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. The incident happened around 5.40 am on Sunday, the 25th of August, 2024, shortly after he arrived in Nigeria via a Virgin Atlantic flight from the United Kingdom.
“As at the time of this report, no reason had been given for his detention by the security agency. Soyinka has not been reachable as messages and calls to his phone have been unanswered.”
When contacted, Peter Afunanya, a spokesman for the DSS, stated he was unaware of Soyinka’s arrest.
“I am not aware of the matter you have raised and have no comments on it,” he said.
However, in another message sent by his friend, he said Soyinka had been released by the DSS, who held him in their Ikoyi office.
The friend told our correspondent that the DSS seized Soyinka’s passport.
“He has been released. They held onto his passport. He was released from their (DSS) Ikoyi office.”
