FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 12, 2026
Press Freedom Under Siege: Okun Media Professionals Condemn the Unlawful Arrest of KOGI Reports Publisher, Opeyemi Owoeye
Okun Media Professionals has condemned in the strongest possible terms the arrest and detention of Mr. Opeyemi Owoeye, Publisher of KOGI Reports, following a direct order from Hon. Leke Abejide, the member representing Yagba Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
In a press statement signed and issued by its chairman, Chief Olugbemi Femi and Secretary, Comrade Bolu Obahopo, the forum said that Owoeye was arrested on Wednesday, June 11, 2026, by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) after his platform published a story alleging that Hon. Abejide was attempting to use the President’s Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, to influence the outcome of the APC Kogi West Senatorial primary election.
Rather than respond to the allegations through legitimate legal channels, the lawmaker reportedly directed NSCDC officials to arrest and detain the journalist, an action our association views as a gross abuse of power and a direct assault on press freedom.
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As of the time of this release, the NSCDC has provided no public explanation for the arrest, identified no legal basis for detaining a journalist over a published news report, and has reportedly refused to grant bail without an order from the same lawmaker who directed the arrest.
This is not justice. This is intimidation dressed in uniform.
Okun Media Professionals wishes to state clearly that this action is unconstitutional, unlawful, and unacceptable. The Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
No elected official — regardless of his political connections or proximity to power — has the authority to weaponise security agencies against journalists for doing their job. The role of the press is to hold power accountable, and that role must be protected.
We are particularly alarmed that this is not an isolated incident. Hon. Abejide has a documented pattern of using state force to intimidate and silence those who challenge him. Last year, a political associate from Mopamuro was similarly arrested and detained for days simply for demanding respect for rotational arrangements within their constituency. This growing pattern of impunity must stop.
It is deeply troubling that a man elected to make laws is instead using those laws — and the agencies meant to protect citizens — as personal instruments of harassment. We call on the National Assembly, the Inspector General of Police, the Commandant-General of the NSCDC, and all relevant authorities to investigate this matter.
We equally call on the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Press Council, and all civil society organisations to stand in solidarity with Opeyemi Owoeye and speak with one voice against this brazen attack on press freedom.
To Hon. Leke Abejide, we say this directly: a journalist is not your enemy. The story is not the crime. If you believe a publication is false or defamatory, the courts are open. Use them. What you cannot do — what no democratic society should tolerate — is deploying security operatives to silence reporters and punish truth-telling.
Okun Media Professionals stands firmly with Opeyemi Owoeye and with every journalist who risks their safety to keep the public informed. We will continue to monitor this situation and will not rest until Mr. Owoeye is freed and justice is served.
Although Mr. Owoeye has been released after Pressure from the Media, we want to advise the NSCDC in Kogi not to allow themselves to be used as an instrument of distabilizing democracy by silencing the Press.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, JUNE 12TH 2026)
