A news platform based in South Africa, The Conversation Africa, has strongly criticized the treatment of its West Africa editor and investigative journalist, Adejuwon Soyinka, by the Department of State Services.
Soyinka was held for six hours by the DSS upon his arrival at Murtala Muhammad Airport in Lagos from the UK. The DSS informed him that he was on a watchlist by another security agency for unspecified reasons. Although he was eventually released, his passport was retained pending confirmation that the agency no longer had an interest in him.
The International Press Institute played a role in securing Soyinka’s release. The news platform’s management expressed concern that such harassment could have a detrimental impact on journalism and academia.
According to the platform, journalists and academics should have the freedom to disclose facts, regardless of how inconvenient they may be for those in positions of authority. They emphasized that the freedom of the press and academia are crucial elements of a democratic society.