The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu to immediately stop the Kaduna State Police Command from harassing journalist Zainab Salihu Yabagi of JKD Radio/Television.
In a statement issued Monday by National Coordinator Emmanuel Onwubiko, the group said it was alarmed that Yabagi had been declared wanted over a video explainer concerning Ibrahim Masari, a Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu. The allegations against her include criminal conspiracy, defamation, cyberstalking and bullying.
HURIWA also expressed concern over the September 11 invasion of the station’s Millennium City, Kaduna studios by heavily armed police officers. Police initially said the operation related to a stolen phone investigation. During the raid, General Manager Charles Abah and a security officer were arrested and held for more than seven hours.
The rights group described the actions as troubling, especially because they stemmed from a broadcast about a presidential adviser. It argued that if Masari believes the report defamed him, he should seek redress in court rather than rely on police force.
“If the Special Adviser believes that the broadcast defamed him, the appropriate response is to approach a competent court and seek redress, not to deploy the coercive machinery of the state against a journalist,” HURIWA said.
The organisation warned against using the Cybercrime Prohibition Act to turn civil defamation disputes into criminal cases involving arrests and intimidation. It cited Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution, which assigns the media the duty of holding government accountable, and said journalists cannot perform that role under constant threat of police action whenever officials object to coverage.
HURIWA stressed it does not claim journalists are above the law. Where credible evidence of a crime exists, due process should apply. But due process, it said, does not include raiding a media house, detaining staff and declaring a journalist wanted over a matter that can be tested in court.
The group called on the Inspector-General to review the September 11 operation and ensure the police are not used to settle personal grievances. It also urged the government to protect journalists and media organisations from arbitrary arrest and intimidation, warning that such practices risk shrinking Nigeria’s civic space and weakening democratic accountability.
HURIWA demanded an immediate end to the harassment of Yabagi and JKD Radio/Television, insisting that anyone alleging defamation should pursue available legal remedies instead of state coercion.
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