Nigerian Police Detain Journalists After Report Alleging Certificate Forgery by Local Official

Two journalists with the outlet Emirates Online were arrested by the Nigerian police in Suleja, Niger State, on Friday following a report that accused the local council chairman of forging his secondary school certificate.

The journalists, Muttaka Khumasy and Ibrahim Alhassan Suleja, were taken into custody shortly after publishing an investigation into the academic credentials of Hon. Isyaku Bawa Naibi, Chairman of Suleja Local Government Area. According to sources, they were initially held in Suleja before being transferred to the Force Intelligence Department (FID) in Abuja, where they remain detained.

The arrest has ignited immediate concerns over press freedom and the intimidation of journalists in Nigeria. Advocacy groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have repeatedly criticized Nigerian authorities for using arrest and detention to harass journalists over critical reporting.

The allegation at the center of the report certificate forgery reflects an ongoing issue within Nigerian public life. Similar cases have been documented in recent years, including arrests in Niger State in 2020 for producing fake education certificates and a wider crackdown on foreign certificate forgery between 2015 and 2017.

As of now, no formal charges have been publicly disclosed, and the Niger State police have yet to issue an official statement regarding the basis for the journalists’ detention. The case has renewed calls from media freedom organizations for legal reforms to decriminalize defamation and protect journalistic work in Nigeria.