Investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo has accused the Nigerian Army of deliberately compromising his safety after being detained for three days in Port Harcourt while conducting an undercover investigation into illegal oil bunkering.
“I will be honest, it is the first time I have genuinely felt my security compromised. I believe the army deliberately – the acting spokesman of the Nigerian army deliberately compromised my security by releasing that statement and linking me to oil bunkerers. I was in detention, I made no mention of oil bunkering, now you’ve gone to tell illegal bunkerers that ‘look, this guy was on your trail,’” he stated.
Speaking in an interview with Arise News on Saturday, Soyombo described his experience and the challenges faced by journalists in Nigeria.
“I am an investigative and undercover journalist. I was investigating illegal oil bunkering. It happened that someone in the security setup was offended that he didn’t get bribed because the illegal bunkerers would bribe people in security. One got annoyed and tipped off others,” Soyombo explained.
He clarified that he was not arrested with oil thieves but had approached the military personnel, thinking they were there to facilitate a settlement.
“There was no arrest, the Nigerian army did not arrest me. They spotted me, flashed their torch, and I came out and wanted to open a conversation. I didn’t show them my ID because the illegal bunkerers had said they had settled everyone and the guys who came were the ones that were not settled, and a conversation was going to settle them, so I just thought it was a settlement conversation and I came forward,” he added.
Soyombo admitted that he did not inform the Nigerian Army about his investigation due to mistrust.
“The real growls of the army were that, one, I didn’t carry them along. I won’t deny that I have low trust for Nigerian public institutions – I didn’t trust the army, I didn’t carry them along, but also known illegal oil bunkerers were bribing different people with various security formations and I would endanger my life by carrying them along if I didn’t know who was who.”
He revealed that after being detained in a military camp, he maintained his cover as an illegal oil bunkerer until he was taken to the Sixth Division headquarters.
“They all felt I was an illegal oil bunkerer, and I played along until they took me to 6th Div. And I thought from then I was speaking with people in offices who were investigating the case; that is when I said I was an undercover journalist and showed them proof,” Soyombo said.
Reflecting on his experience, Soyombo criticised the state of press freedom in Nigeria, especially concerning investigative journalism.
“Of course, the press is not free in a number of ways, and one of them is that, especially people in security, don’t want to hear the word ‘investigation’. Every encounter I have had with the police, the military, once I say ‘I was investigating’, something just changes in them. They don’t want the press to do any form of independent work,” he said.
He expressed concern about the broader implications of such actions for efforts to end illegal oil bunkering.
“My utmost concern now is my security has been compromised by the Nigerian army that should be interested in ending illegal oil bunkering and should have seen me as a partner,” Soyombo said.
The journalist explained that his interaction with illegal bunkerers was part of his investigation.
“For my security. You have to realise that I obtained hard evidence by experiencing the entire process. We were to load crude onto a truck and move it to Enugu, a buyer was waiting. Some move it to Enugu, some move it to Anambra or Abia, some go as far as Kano. So we were to move – I wanted to see the site, so I insisted, and last minute, they said ‘drop the bag’. Of course, they knew that it could go south. So I dropped two items with them and from there, I ended up with the military, I needed to retrieve my properties with them. So I still had to interact with them.”
Soyombo said he eventually revealed his identity as an investigative journalist on Wednesday evening, shortly after being taken to the Sixth Division headquarters.
“Wednesday evening, around 5, 6 pm. They picked me up around 2 am Wednesday and I was in that camp morning, afternoon, then around evening, before 5 I got there. So they knew since Wednesday because I gave them my real name. I gave them my track record for years and asked them to go online and check. I believe that they knew immediately on Wednesday that I was an investigative journalist.”
He emphasised that public pressure played a crucial role in securing his release.
“If it did not get to the media yesterday that I was in detention, I would still be there. I repeatedly asked them that I need to speak to my lawyer and they denied me and they instructed all soldiers around there that none of them must give me their phones.”
For aspiring journalists, Soyombo offered advice on maintaining focus despite the risks.
“My advice is you cannot be influenced by external factors. I think it’s a weak position for any human being to have. For everything you want to do in life or investigative reporting, you have to know why you want to do it.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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