In a pre-dawn operation on Sunday, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested Adejuwon Soyinka, the Regional Editor of The Conversation Africa. Soyinka was apprehended around 5 a.m. upon his arrival at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
Fellow journalist Dayo Aiyetan disclosed the incident in a post on X, stating that Soyinka, a former editor of BBC Pidgin, was detained by the DSS after returning from the United Kingdom. The reason for his detention remains unclear.
Global rights organization Amnesty International has demanded Soyinka’s immediate release. “The Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Juwon Soyinka, who was arrested by the Dept. of State Services (DSS) early today at Lagos airport. The manner of his arrest puts him at risk of torture and other ill-treatment,” the group stated on X.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) also condemned the arrest, urging the current administration to cease its “persecution of journalists simply for doing their job.”
“We’re concerned that Soyinka’s arrest is part of a growing crackdown against journalists, whistleblowers, and human rights defenders in Nigeria,” SERAP stated. “The harassment and intimidation of journalists and whistleblowers show that the Tinubu administration is intolerant of peaceful dissent. This is entirely incompatible with democratic principles and the rule of law.”
