Ibraheem Hamza Mohammed, a Nigerian journalist, was released from prison on Friday after intervention from the Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI Nigeria).
Mohammed was arrested by the Nasarawa State Command of the Nigeria Police on May 1, accused of falsely reporting that N40 million was stolen from Governor Abdullahi Sule’s bedroom. The article was published on February 22, 2024, by First News, an online newspaper based in Lagos.
He was charged with violating the Cybercrime Act and remanded at the Medium Security Custodian Centre in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, pending trial. However, after spending 10 days in jail, Mohammed was granted bail by a Nasarawa High Court in Doma and released on Friday.
He will remain on bail until May 13, when the police are expected to withdraw the charges against him and discontinue the trial.
To secure Mohammed’s release, IPI Nigeria’s delegation, led by President Musikilu Mojeed, visited Lafia on May 6, meeting with top Nasarawa State government officials, including Governor Sule, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Labaran Magaji, and the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ibrahim Addra. The delegation also visited Mohammed in prison.
Meanwhile, First News management has apologized to Governor Sule over the story, acknowledging that it lacked truth and was concocted by the reporter to pursue a personal vendetta against the governor.
In response, the newspaper assured Governor Sule that such incidents would not occur again and expressed regret over the matter.
IPI Nigeria is urging Nigerian journalists to uphold the ethics of their profession, refrain from publishing false news, and maintain high standards in their practice.
