Police Declares Journalist Fisayo Soyombo Wanted Amid FIJ Investigation

The Nigeria Police Force has requested Bukky Shonibare, Chair of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) Board of Trustees, to produce Fisayo Soyombo, FIJ’s Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief.

This call follows FIJ’s explosive investigative report, which shed light on various irregularities within Nigeria’s customs service in which notable names such as IBD Dende was mentioned. Many see the police’s summons directly reacting to these eye-opening revelations.

Sharing her account of the encounter during her initial meeting with the police in Abuja, Shonibare clarified that Soyombo is more than willing to cooperate and emphasized that he’s not dodging authorities.

During the interrogation, the police investigator was adamant about speaking directly with Soyombo, prompting Shonibare to clear up any misconceptions about his availability.

“The investigator closed his iPad, put his hands on the table, and said, ‘well, we need to speak to Fisayo. You need to produce Fisayo.’ So, I had to clarify that Fisayo was not on the run; it is not like they had invited him and he didn’t come,” she explained.

Shonibare shed light on the police’s efforts to foster a collaborative relationship akin to that of another nonprofit organization. However, she stood firm, emphasizing that FIJ’s sole focus is investigative journalism and publishing stories rather than engaging in joint efforts with law enforcement.

Despite the challenges during the interrogation, Shonibare maintained her composure and reiterated FIJ’s commitment to investigative journalism.

“He asked why FIJ was not like another specific nonprofit organization. The deputy director said that he was friends with this nonprofit organization. He said that they would go do their research and bring the information to the police. ‘So, why are we publishing our work?’ he asked. ‘Why don’t we bring some findings to them and settle things amicably?‘” Shonibare recounted.

“I told him that FIJ is the Foundation for Investigative Journalism. That’s the work that we do. We’re not another friendly nonprofit bringing stories to them. We don’t work that way. Our job is to publish stories,” she reiterated.