Amnesty International (AI) has strongly condemned the arbitrary arrest, detention, and hasty sentencing of a 23-year-old female journalist, Farida Isiak by the Nigeria Police Force in Kaduna State.
Amnesty International noted that Farida Isiak’s arrest, arraignment and subsequent sentencing were clearly as a result of her attempt to expose abuses by the police.
It specifically stressed that sentencing a journalist to four-years in prison after a sham trial is a travesty of justice.
Farida Isiak, a reporter with Nagarta Radio in Kaduna, was taken into custody at about 10:00 p.m. on Monday, 20 October, by officers under the command of the Divisional Police Officer of Mararaban Jos, Usman Adamu.
The case began as a minor disagreement between her mother and a neighbour over a 100 naira change dispute involving sale of charcoal. It was gathered that police officers initially arrested her mother and later detained her father when he went to secure her release, using their detention as leverage to force Farida to come to the police station.
When Farida arrived at the station, police officers accused her of defaming them because of a Facebook post she wrote criticizing their unlawful treatment of her parents.
Even though she complied with police demands to delete the post and apologize with the understanding of securing her parents’ release, the police kept her in custody and later rushed her to a Sharia Court in Kawo.
Amnesty International noted that as soon as she was arraigned, the presiding Sharia judge sentenced her to four years in prison or a fine of 1.75 million naira on charges of defamation, but completely ignored the initial police misconduct and the abusive actions that led to the incident.
In the words of Amnesty International; “The arrest, detention, and hasty sentencing of Farida Isiak are a flagrant abuse of power by the police and weaponization of the judicial system to silence free speech and intimidate journalists.
“Arresting and holding a citizen’s parents to force a journalist to hand herself over is an unlawful tactic that violates rule of law. Demanding accountability for police actions is a constitutional right,” it stressed.
Amnesty International therefore called on the Kaduna State Police Command and Nigerian judicial authorities to immediately release Farida Isiak, drop all charges, and cancel the fine imposed on her. It further stated that the Nigeria Police Force must launched a full and independent investigation into the conduct of police officers involved in the unlawful detention of her family.
Amnesty International further said that the Nigerian authorities must stop using defamation charges and the legal system to harass journalists and restrict press freedom.
