BREAKING: Nigerian Police Arrest Two Niger State Journalists For Exposing Alleged Certificate Forgery By Suleja Council Chairman

The journalists were arrested on Friday in Suleja, Niger State, by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force shortly after the publication of the report.

Two journalists with Emirates Online, Muttaka Khumasy and Ibrahim Alhassan Suleja, have been arrested by the Nigerian police following their report alleging secondary school certificate forgery involving the Chairman of Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, Hon. Isyaku Bawa Naibi.

The journalists were arrested on Friday in Suleja, Niger State, by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force shortly after the publication of the report.

This has raised questions over the authenticity of the local government chairman’s academic credentials.

According to sources familiar with the development, the journalists were initially taken into custody in Suleja before being transferred to the Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja, where they are currently being detained.

As of the time of this report, the two journalists remain in custody at the FID in Abuja.

The arrest of journalists for reporting alleged certificate forgery has sparked concerns about press freedom in Nigeria.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has previously criticised Nigerian authorities for harassing journalists, citing cases like the arrest of Peoples Gazette staff members over a report on a former army chief, Tukur Buratai.

Certificate forgery is a serious issue in Nigeria, with several cases reported in recent years.

In 2020, four suspects were arrested in Niger State for printing fake certificates from the state College of Education, Minna.

Similarly, in 2018, 20 people were arrested for foreign certificate forgery between 2015 and 2017.

The detention of journalists for their work is not isolated; Nigeria has seen several such cases, prompting calls for reforms to decriminalise defamation and protect press freedom.