The Nigeria Police Force has released Adenike Atanda, wife of a senior investigative reporter with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), following her reported detention alongside her nine-month-old baby in the Owutu area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.
FIJ reported that Adenike and the infant were released on Monday evening, shortly after police operatives arrested her husband, Sodeeq Atanda, a senior reporter with the organisation, who was later released.
According to FIJ, Adenike and the baby were earlier taken to a police station in Owutu, where they were held for several hours before officers allegedly asked her to contact her husband.
In an account published by the organisation, Adenike said she was instructed to call Atanda and tell him that their child was ill and had been taken to the hospital.
“When they realised my husband was no longer far from the house, the policemen drove me and my baby to a street not far from our home. And when they saw him, they handcuffed him and took him away. That was when they released my baby and me,” she told FIJ.
FIJ said Atanda was immediately taken from the area to the Force Headquarters annex, Obalende, Lagos, where he was detained for several hours before his eventual release just before midnight.
The organisation linked the incident to an earlier attempt to invite Atanda for questioning.
According to FIJ, on November 26, a person identified as ‘Omo Eleniyan’, who claimed to be attached to the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit at the Force Headquarters, contacted the journalist via WhatsApp.
“I’m a police officer attached to the IGP Monitoring Unit, Lagos Annex. An approved petition was referred to my department from the office of the Inspector-General of Police for further investigation, and your named has been mentioned and alleged. That was why you have been invited, sir. Thanks for cooperation and understanding,” the message read.
FIJ said Atanda responded by providing the organisation’s official email address and requested that any formal invitation be sent through that channel.
However, the sender reportedly replied, “The invitation is for you, not for the organisation.”
When Atanda insisted that such communication should go through FIJ, the organisation said the sender responded, “Alright, sir. No problem.”
FIJ added that no further communication was received until Monday evening, when Adenike and the couple’s infant were detained.
As of press time, the Lagos State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement explaining the detention and release of Atanda’s wife and child.
However, in a response to the text message sent to the PPRO of the Lagos State Command, SP Abimbola Adebisi, she said, “A reporter from FIJ called last night in this regard, and he said at FHQ, I am yet to get facts on this. I’m still trying to reach FHQ Annex.”
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