Officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) have yet to return the camera and phones they confiscated from PUNCH photojournalist Kayode Jaiyeola.
Despite Jaiyeola’s persistent efforts to recover his belongings, including multiple visits to the NSA’s office, his attempts have been unsuccessful.
Jaiyeola recounted that security operatives at the NSA office denied him access despite his explanations. “I was at the NSA’s office earlier today to see how I could retrieve my phones and camera but I was denied access to the building.
I tried explaining what transpired to them but they didn’t listen,” he said. Attempts to contact the ONSA spokesperson for assistance were also fruitless, as calls went unanswered.
The incident occurred while Jaiyeola was covering the EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest at Eagles Square. Despite showing his office identity card, NSA officials detained him and transported him to the FCT police command, where he was ordered to be held.
The officials also denied his requests to contact his office or family to inform them of his situation.
The FCT police command spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, confirmed that the officials were from the NSA’s office and that Jaiyeola’s belongings were with them. However, repeated calls to ONSA spokesperson Zakari Mijinyawa have gone unanswered, and no response has been received to messages sent to him as of the time of this report.
