By Danjuma Lamido
The arrest and detention of Mrs Adenike Atanda and her nine-month-old baby at the Owutu Police Station in Ikorodu, Lagos, is condemnable, plain and simple. No civilised society should countenance the needless distress of a nursing mother and an infant.
The Nigeria Police Force itself has acknowledged this reality, expressed regret over the “needless trauma and distress” suffered by the child, and, crucially, activated disciplinary processes against the erring officers. That much is not in dispute.
What is deeply troubling, however, is the International Press Institute (IPI Nigeria)’s decision to theatrically announce a so-called “total suspension” of relations with the police, an action that appears less about justice and more about grandstanding.
Let us be clear: arrest by proxy is strictly prohibited under Nigerian law. On this point, there is no argument. But when the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, promptly intervened upon being briefed, constituted disciplinary action against the officers involved, and regretted the infant’s ordeal, one must ask: what exactly does IPI Nigeria want beyond this? A lynch mob? A media trial?
It bears repeating that it is never an offence to have a relationship with a journalist. The police have acknowledged that reality. Equally important is the principle that journalists are not above the law. If a journalist is petitioned, the Nigeria Police has a constitutional duty to investigate. Mr Sodeeq Atanda is not exempt from investigation simply because he practises journalism.
Available facts suggest that Mr Atanda ignored several invitations extended to him by the police, a development that ultimately necessitated his arrest. In most jurisdictions, including ours, handcuffing during arrest is aimed at securing a suspect during transportation and ensuring officer safety; it is not, in itself, a punishment. To sensationalise routine operational procedures is to mislead the public.
The IGP’s commitment to press freedom is not rhetorical. Only recently, he mandated the IGP Monitoring Unit to engage directly with IPI Nigeria to improve media–police relations. That proactive step alone should have been recognised as good-faith leadership. Yet, despite meetings held with IPI Nigeria’s leadership by the IGP and his management team, the institute now appears bent on working against the very progress it claims to desire.
Calls for financial compensation in this matter are laughable and unjustifiable. The police should rightly ignore such demands. Likewise, the strident calls by a so-called international institute for the immediate arrest, prosecution, and dismissal of officers, without the conclusion of a proper investigation, are degrading, dictatorial, and antithetical to the rule of law.
IPI Nigeria’s claim of “grave concern” that the police continue to shield officers who violate the law is blackmail, pure and simple. It is mischievous to assert this in the face of ongoing disciplinary actions under IGP Egbetokun, who has consistently shown that no rank or position is immune when the law is breached. The police do not meddle in civil or commercial disputes before courts, and the IGP has not hesitated to discipline officers found wanting.
One must therefore call on Musikilu Mojeed, President of IPI Nigeria, and Tobi Soniyi, its Legal Adviser, to exercise objectivity and restraint. Their recent activities project an institute seemingly sponsored to blackmail an indefatigable IGP rather than to strengthen press freedom through constructive engagement.
It is difficult to ignore the pattern. Despite dialogue, despite reforms, despite open doors, IPI Nigeria’s posture increasingly mirrors that of misguided elements intent on forcing the IGP out of office. If that is the agenda, it should be stated openly, not cloaked in sanctimonious press statements.
Nigeria needs responsible journalism and professional policing, not performative outrage. Justice is best served through due process, not megaphone diplomacy.
Danjuma Lamido writes from Yola, Adamawa State. email: danjumalamido2011@gmail.com