Nigerian Police in Lagos have detained Emmanuel Uti, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), after inviting him to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), SAVANNAH NEWSNOW REPORTS.
Uti was reportedly detained at the FCID annexe in Lagos’ Alagbon area on Tuesday, after responding to a police invitation regarding a story he published in November 2024, according to Fisayo Soyombo, publisher of FIJ, who expressed concerns over the journalist’s detention on his verified X handle.
“His only ‘crime’ is filing a story about an educational consulting firm in Ikeja that collected N4m to secure admission into a Canadian institution for a client without delivering,” Mr Soyombo wrote.
A report published last November revealed that Beverly Basil, a former employee of an educational consulting firm in Ikeja, collected N4 million from a Lagos resident to secure admission to the Canadian Institute of Management and Technology in Canada, but failed to deliver on the agreement or refund the money.
A letter dated December 16, 2024, informed the journalist that he was under investigation for criminal conspiracy and cyberbullying, and that his presence was required to provide clarification. The police instructed Mr Uti to report to the Alagbon office, where he would meet with an officer named Magaji Ibrahim.
