A Nigerian rights group has urged Kaduna State authorities to withdraw charges against a journalist and commission an independent inquiry into allegations that police detained her parents.
Premium Times reported Nov. 5 that the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) called for the prosecution to end and for an investigation into the arrest, the reported detention of the journalist’s parents and officers’ conduct.
Premium Times and Punch identify the journalist as Farida Isiak, while the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) spells her name Faridat Isiak. She is 23 and works for Nagarta Radio. Isiak told ICIR that police held her parents until she went to a station, then pressured her to delete a Facebook post and apologize before they were released. Those claims are allegations in her account.
The case followed a dispute over ₦100 in change from a charcoal sale, Premium Times reported. On Oct. 21, a court sentenced Isiak to four years in prison or a ₦1.75 million fine after she pleaded guilty to defamation, the outlet reported. Her lawyer intervened after the sentence. The court later set aside the conviction, accepted a new not-guilty plea and granted her bail, Premium Times reported.
Section 36 of the Nigeria Police Act 2020 bars arresting one person in place of a suspect. LEDAP questioned whether Isiak’s parents had been detained on that basis, Premium Times reported. The group also raised a possible conflict of interest because the divisional police officer criticized in Isiak’s post was reportedly involved in the investigation.
The Kaduna State Police Command said Isiak’s post concerned the police, an officer and the officer’s family. It also said the commissioner had stepped in to resolve the matter, Punch reported.
Premium Times reported that a hearing was scheduled for Nov. 3. Later reports did not establish whether it took place or resulted in a ruling, leaving the prosecution’s current status unconfirmed.
