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A Lagos-based journalist, Friday Alefia, has filed a N50 million fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police commissioner and an Ebonyi State lawmaker,, Chinedu Ogah, over his alleged unlawful arrest and detention for 86 days.
Mr Alefia, publisher of Naija News Today, accused the police and the member of the House of Representatives representing Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency of violating his constitutional rights through what he described as a politically motivated arrest.
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According to court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday, the journalist was at his residence in Ikorodu, Lagos, on 23 September 2025 when armed men who identified themselves as police officers stormed his apartment and arrested him.
He was first detained at the Area F Police Station in Ikeja before being transferred to Abuja, where he was held at the SARS detention facility in Guzape, also known as Abattoir.
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The court filings alleged that during Mr Alefia’s detention, police officers pressured him to admit that his social media posts were sponsored by political opponents of Mr Ogah, a claim he reportedly refuted..
The FCT Police Command later filed charges against the journalist on 8 October 2025 at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The with five counts listed Mr Alefia as the first defendant and Asiwaju Media Company Ltd as the second, with the Commissioner of Police named as the complainant.
The prosecution accused him of conspiring to use computer systems, including Facebook, to publish false information, spreading allegedly misleading reports about Mr Ogah’s purported seizure of community land in Ebonyi State, and cyberstalking the lawmaker through online publications.
The offences were said to contravene Section 24(2)(a) of the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act and are punishable under Section 24(2)(c)(i) of the law.
Alefia’s prayers
While still in custody, Mr Alefia filed a fundamental rights enforcement application on 10 October 2025, asking the court to declare his arrest and continued detention unconstitutional, unlawful and illegal.
In the application, his lawyers argued that the actions of the police violated his rights under Sections 35, 41 and 46 of the Nigerian constitution as well as Articles 6 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He asked the court to order his immediate release or compel the police to produce him before a competent court.
He also sought an order restraining the police from further detaining him unlawfully.
The journalist further demanded N50 million in exemplary damages against Mr Ogah, whom his lawyers alleged instigated and directed his arrest and detention.
In a supporting affidavit deposed to by one of his lawyers, Evelyn Chang, the defence attached screenshots of Mr Alefia’s Facebook posts, which they said related to civic issues and public interest reporting.
The suit was jointly signed by Ogah Ogbenyi Oligwu, Godswill D. Nwani, Sabinus O. Achugamuenye, U. U. Fingesi, Feng Mandung Pwajok and Mrs Chang.
Bail
On 27 November 2025, the Federal High Court granted Mr Alefia bail in the sum of N20 million with two sureties in like sum.
Mr Alefia’s release was delayed for 22 days as his legal team struggled to meet the bail conditions.
He was eventually released from the Kuje Correctional Centre on 19 December 2025.
Speaking shortly after his release, the journalist said the delay resulted from the requirement that both sureties reside in Abuja.
“After I was granted bail, we couldn’t meet the conditions because the two sureties with the sum of N20 million each had to live in Abuja,” he told PREMIUM TIMES during a WhatsApp call.
Court proceedings were marked by repeated delays during the bail hearing stage. At one sitting, the judge fined the prosecution N50,000 for failing to properly serve its counter-affidavit opposing bail.
Mr Alefia was arrested in Lagos on 23 September, transferred to Abuja and held for about six weeks at the now-defunct SARS facility before he was arraigned.
At his arraignment, the prosecution informed the court that the matter was fixed for plea taking.
Mr Alefia pleaded not guilty to all five counts, while the court entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of the second defendant.
Although the prosecution requested a trial date, the defence drew the court’s attention to a pending bail application.
The judge declined to consider it, saying the application was not in the court file.
He initially ordered the journalist’s remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre and adjourned the case to 27 January before the defence secured an earlier bail hearing date.
Mr Alefia’s family later said his health deteriorated during detention, forcing them to pay for hospital treatment privately.
A relative, Chijioke Alefia, described the arrest as politically motivated and called for urgent intervention.
Several legal and rights groups condemned the detention. Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, said arbitrary arrests, digital surveillance and strategic lawsuits against public participation posed a serious threat to freedom of expression and democracy.
Chino Obiagwu, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and national coordinator of the Legal Defence and Assistance Project, said the journalist had a constitutional right to be arraigned within 48 hours and granted bail on liberal terms.
The charges against Mr Alefia include allegations that he published reports titled ‘How Federal Lawmaker Ogah Snatches Village Land in Ebonyi,’ ‘Ebonyi Rep Member Returns N4 Million Amidst Extortion Allegations,’ and ‘Ebonyi Rep Member Threatens Constituent for Supporting Charity Foundation.’
He was also accused of cyberstalking by allegedly publishing a statement attributed to the lawmaker claiming responsibility for rigging an election.
The case has renewed concerns among press freedom advocates over the use of the Cybercrimes Act against journalists.
In December 2025, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and the Nigerian Guild of Editors warned that authorities were exploiting legal loopholes to suppress criticism and shrink civic space.
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Veteran journalist Richard Akinnola described the law as being weaponised by political leaders, likening its application to the repressive Decree 4 of 1984.
The Centre for Journalism and Innovation Development also reported a rise in attacks on media practitioners nationwide, with Lagos recording persistently high-severity violations.
The Federal High Court is yet to fix a hearing date for Mr Alefia’s damages suit.
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