- Damilola Ayeni, Editor of FIJ, was detained by Benin authorities during a Nigeria-Benin environmental journalism report session in the country’s north
- Beninese police reportedly cited security concerns in the area, and FIJ is working to establish physical contact with Ayeni
Damilola Ayeni, the Editor of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), has been detained by police in the Republic of Benin, a neighbouring West African country.
According to FIJ, Ayeni was detained by Benin authorities while visiting the country for the second session of a Nigeria-Benin environmental journalism report in the country’s largest city in their northern region.
According to a report, FIJ received a distress text from Ayeni, deleted seconds later on one of its communication channels.
The text read: “I have just been arrested.”
According to the report, no other message followed the text. Ayeni later told his colleagues over the phone that he was briefly detained because Beninese police said there were security concerns in the area.
According to FIJ, the release-and-rearrest tactic is frequently used by Beninese police to keep captives in the station without alerting their friends and relatives.
The investigative media organization could not contact Ayeni until early Tuesday morning when a man identifying himself as the ‘Commissioner of the Central Police Station of Parakou in Benin’ informed them that the editor was being held at Commisseria Central, Parakou Police Station.
Hello sir, I am the Commissioner of the Central Police Station of Parakou in Benin. Do you know Mr. Damilola of Nigerian nationality?” he asked in his opening text, before adding: “He is arrested in Penjari [sic] Park in northern Benin for jihadist [sic]. He would [sic] be presented to the prosecutor and sent to prison. He risks 10 to 20 years in prison. What do you think of his situation, sir?
The officer communicated with FIJ on WhatsApp at +22946066050, with the profile name ‘Agnisso Lounko’.
The report added that FIJ is trying to establish physical contact with Ayeni in Parakou.