The group made the call while condemning the ongoing persecution of investigative journalists by the Nigerian government.
HURIWA lamented that the recent wave of arrests, harassment, and abductions of journalists under President Bola Tinubu’s administration poses a severe threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
Speaking via a statement signed by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA expressed concern that David Hundeyin, an investigative journalist, has become a target of the Nigeria Police Force due to his alleged connections with Bristol Isaac, also known as PIDOMNigeria, and Michael Alade.
HURIWA urged the international community to closely monitor these escalating attacks on the free press.
The rights group alleged that Hundeyin’s investigative reporting, particularly his exposés on President Tinubu’s alleged certificate fraud during the period he was President-elect, has drawn the ire of the current administration.
The association claimed that Hundeyin is being persecuted solely for his commitment to uncovering the truth and holding those in power accountable.
The statement read in part, “One of the earliest cases involved the arrest of Segun Olatunji, then Editor of FirstNews newspaper, by operatives of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in March.
“This was followed by the abduction of Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), on May 1.
“Ojukwu was held incommunicado at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Lagos for ten days before being released, raising serious concerns about the misuse of the Cybercrime Act to suppress critical reporting,”
Further underscoring the worsening situation, HURIWA called on “the international community to closely monitor Nigeria’s situation and pressure President Tinubu to respect the principles of democracy, human rights, and press freedom.”
