The Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) has condemned the ongoing harassment of journalist Abdulrasheed Hammad by state security agencies in Sokoto State.
The coalition criticised the repeated attacks on journalists by state agents, particularly security officials, citing the recent invitation of Hammad by the Department of State Services (DSS) as an example of this worrying trend.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the CWPPF detailed the recent incidents involving Hammad. The journalist was summoned by the Department of State Services (DSS) over his report in TheCable, which highlighted the illegal operations of several sachet water factories.
Despite providing alternative arrangements, the DSS insisted on Hammad’s physical presence in Sokoto, raising concerns for his safety.
Before this, Hammad and his fixer were arrested, harassed, and detained by the owner of one of the factories he reported on. They were beaten, handcuffed, and extorted by individuals and police personnel.
The CWPPF expressed concern over the growing trend of powerful individuals using security agents, particularly DSS officials, to intimidate journalists through unofficial means, such as phone calls, without formal communication with their newsrooms.
The coalition emphasised that investigative journalism is not a crime and called on the leadership of the DSS and the Nigerian Police Force to educate their personnel on best practices when engaging with journalists.
The CWPPF urged security agencies to follow proper procedures when inviting journalists for questioning, including sending official invitations to journalists and their newsrooms. The coalition stressed that such appearances should not turn into interrogation sessions, as accountability journalism serves the public interest and should not be criminalised.
Read the full statement below.
CWPPF CONDEMNS HARASSMENT OF JOURNALIST ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD BY DSS AND POLICE IN SOKOTO STATE
The Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) condemns the recurrent incessant attacks on journalists by state agents, especially security officials. including men of the State Security Service (SSS) otherwise known as the Department of State Service (DSS) exemplified by the reported invite of a journalist, Abdulrasheed Hammad, over a report published by TheCable.
According to a tweet posted on his X handle, Mr. Hammad got a call from one Muhammed Ahmed on the 15th of August, inviting him to the DSS office in Sokoto state. Hammad was summoned over a report he did to spotlight how 22 sachet water factories in Sokoto state continued to produce and sell pure water to the public without registering with the National Agency For Food And Drug Administration And Control (NAFDAC). According to Hammad’s report, some other 12 pure water factories continue production despite the expiration of their NAFDAC registration.
Upon informing the DSS agent that he wasn’t in Sokoto and would not be able to show up in the DSS’ office on the stipulated date, the caller threatened to arrest him if he failed to appear in their office.
The management of TheCable had also asked the DSS to write a letter of invitation to the company before the reporter is made available for questioning. But the DSS insisted it wouldn’t deal with the company, threatening that the reporter would be arrested if he didn’t present himself at the Sokoto office. Further options provided by the TheCable management, including an interview with the reporter at the Abuja office of the secret service agency, to resolve the issue were also rejected by the DSS who insisted the reporter must be present in Sokoto, even when there are concerns over his safety in the state.
In a chat with the secretariat of the CWPPF, the reporter said he and his fixer had on the 15th of June, been arrested, harassed and detained by the owner of Al-Sherif Pure Water, one of the water factories in his report. Hammad and his fixer were both beaten, handcuffed and dehumanised by certain individuals and police personnel of Arkilla police station on the instruction of the factory owner. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Arkilla police station questioned and charged them N5,000 for bail. He subsequently referred them to the Crime Investigations Department (CID) of the Sokoto state police command.
The reporter was further forced to write a letter of apology to the owner of Al-Sherif Pure Water by the men of the Arkilla police division before he and his fixer were released.
The reporter however disclosed through his X handle on Saturday, the 17th of August that the 5,000 naira that he was charged for bail was refunded to him on the instruction of the DPO of Arkilla police station who reached out to him to apologise for the incident but said the officer who harassed and extorted the journalist had been transferred to Kano.
We have noticed that powerful individuals resort to using security agents, especially DSS officials to intimidate journalists via phone calls where they are summoned and threatened without official communications established with their newsrooms. This approach is not only alarming but also unacceptable.
While we acknowledge the role of security agencies in maintaining law and order, we reiterate that Investigative Journalism is not a crime under any known law in Nigeria and as such should not be criminalised.
The leaderships of the State Security Service and the Nigerian Police Force will therefore have to do more with educating their personnel on best practices of engaging journalists and direct them to stop harassing and intimidating journalists who are simply discharging their constitutional duties in the interest of the public.
For future engagements where journalists may be required to provide insight to help with investigations, security agencies should follow the appropriate invitation procedure of sending an official invite to journalists and their newsrooms. This will enable them to prepare adequately before appearing. Such appearances should also not be turned into interrogation sessions because accountability journalism is not a crime.
Signed:
CWPPF Secretariat
