DSS releases Soyinka, withholds Passport

Adejuwon Soyinka, an investigative journalist and regional editor of The Conversation Africa, has been released.

Soyinka was taken into custody by Department of State Services agents on Sunday at Lagos's Muritala Muhammed International Airport.

One of his colleagues wrote a distress note, saying that Soyinka was pulled up not long after landing from the UK. The colleague added in the message that Soyinka had been held incommunicado and that there had been no explanation for his incarceration. The statement said, "Adejuwon Soyinka has been detained at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos by Department of State Security officers." The incident occurred on Sunday, August 25, 2024, at approximately 5.40 am, not long after he landed in Nigeria aboard a Virgin Atlantic flight.

The statement said, "Adejuwon Soyinka has been detained at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos by Department of State Security officers." The incident occurred on Sunday, August 25, 2024, at 5:40 a.m., not long after he boarded a Virgin Atlantic flight from the United Kingdom to arrive in Nigeria.

As of the time of this report, the security service had not provided a justification for his incarceration. Due to ignored phone calls and mails, Soyinka has not been approachable. When contacted, Peter Afunanya, a spokesman for the DSS, stated he was unaware of Soyinka's detention.

He responded, "I have no comments on the matter you have raised and am not aware of it." But according to a different communication from his friend, Soyinka was freed by the DSS after being detained in their Ikoyi office. The buddy informed our correspondent that Soyinka's passport was confiscated by the DSS. "He's no longer in custody. They clung to his passport. He was let go from the DSS office in Ikoyi.

See previous post on Adejuwon Soyinka's arrest here