FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Abuja, Nigeria — 22 August 2026 — The Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) issues this follow-up statement to its release of the 20th of August, 2026, condemning the assault on Sunday Michael Ogwu, Editor of Pinnacle Daily, by police and the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) personnel in Lugbe, Abuja. We do so in response to a press statement issued on 21 August 2026 by the FCT Police Command, through its Public Relations Officer SP Josephine Adeh, and to subsequent developments that raise fresh concerns about how this matter is being handled.

The Command’s 21 August statement does not address the substance of Mr Ogwu’s allegation. It does not confirm or deny that he was assaulted, does not identify the officers involved, and does not address the use of an electric cable or the destruction of his phone, as detailed in our earlier release. Instead, it focuses almost entirely on Mr Ogwu’s non-attendance at Command Headquarters, describing him as having “declined to honour” invitations and as “seemingly” attempting to “mobilise public sentiment and create undue pressure.”

CWPPF finds this shift in focus troubling, particularly in light of the following:

• Mr Ogwu reported the incident to SP Josephine Adeh personally on the night it occurred, at approximately 8:30 p.m. on 19 August 2026 — roughly a few hours after the alleged 5:30 p.m. assault. He subsequently sought legal advice and the support of press freedom organisations, including this coalition, before committing to a formal statement — an ordinary and lawful sequence of steps for anyone reporting an assault by the very officers he is being asked to report to.
• The FCT Police PRO reportedly told the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), a member of this Coalition, shortly after the incident, that the officers involved were likely not under FCT Command. The Command’s subsequent statement does not repeat, clarify, or reconcile this claim.
• The Divisional Police Officer of Lugbe, CSP Ukorobo Uchenna C., when contacted by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), did not deny that an assault took place. He asked only whether Mr Ogwu personally saw or spoke to him — a response bearing on identification, not on whether the assault occurred.
• A separate publication attributed to the Lugbe Community Security Committee, praising the Commissioner of Police and naming CSP Uchenna as having led an operation in the same area on the same date, confirms that Lugbe Police and VGN personnel were indeed deployed there, while describing the exercise in markedly different terms — an anti-drug operation — from the demolition exercise described by Mr Ogwu and in our 20 August statement.

Taken together, CWPPF is concerned that the substantive allegation of assault risks being displaced by a competing narrative about the complainant’s conduct. We wish to state plainly: a citizen’s decision to consult legal counsel and press-freedom organisations before making a formal statement to the very command implicated in his alleged assault is not evidence of obstruction. It is a reasonable precaution. The attitude of the FCT Police Command in the matter so far, which borders on blaming the victim while avoiding the real issues in question, clearly proves that the precaution was wise and justified. 

Mr Ogwu has had to seek medical attention to deal with the injuries sustained during the attack on him and could not have honoured the police invitation. He has made a commitment to honour the invitation on Monday, August 24, with his lawyers in attendance.

CWPPF also notes that an investigation conducted entirely within the Command implicated in the allegation raises an inherent perception problem, regardless of the intentions of individual officers. We therefore renew and extend our call on the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, and the FCT Police Command to:

• Place the investigation under an independent mechanism outside the direct command structure implicated in the allegation;
• Publicly identify the officers and unit deployed to the Lugbe Federal Housing Estate operation on 19 August 2026 and reconcile this with the PRO’s earlier statement to ICIR that the officers may not have been under FCT Command;
• Preserve and produce deployment records, operational orders, patrol vehicle logs, and any available CCTV or bodycam footage relevant to the operation;
• Render an apology and provide full compensation to Mr Ogwu for his destroyed mobile device and cover all medical expenses arising from the assault;
• Refrain from further public characterisation of Mr Ogwu’s conduct pending a transparent investigation into the conduct of the officers accused;
• Issue clear, binding directives to all FCT police divisions affirming the right of journalists to document public operations without obstruction, seizure of equipment, or physical harm.

CWPPF reiterates that journalism is not a crime, and that documenting the public conduct of state agents is a constitutionally protected right, which has been judicially affirmed. We will continue to monitor this matter closely and stand ready to support a credible, transparent and independent process that can lead to a satisfactory resolution of the matter.

Signed,

Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)
(Contact – bu****@*****id.org)

for

Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF)
August 20, 2026

About the Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF)

CWPPF is a group of media and civil society organisations and law firms committed to upholding democracy and good governance by protecting the ethos of whistleblowing, freedom of expression and press freedom.

1. Premium Times
2. Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation
3. Daily Trust Newspaper
4. International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR)
5. Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ)
6. Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)
7. African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)
8. Civic Media Lab
9. Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC)
10. International Press Centre (IPC)
11. International Press Institute (IPI-Nigria Chapter)
12. Media Rights Agenda (MRA)
13. Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ)
14. Paradigm Initiative
15. Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)
16. HEDA Resources Centre.
17. WikkiTimes
18. Global Rights
19. Dataphyte Foundation
20. Accountability Lab Nigeria
21. FOLEGAL
22. Women Radio 91.7 FM
23. Inibehe Effiong Chambers
24. BUK TV & RADIO
25. The Jurist Newspaper Limited
26. Freedom Radio, Kano
27. Citizens Gavel Foundation for Social Justice
28. Hope Behind Bars Africa
29. Digicivic Initiative
30.  Pinnacle Daily
31. Gatefield
32. DigiCivic Initiative
33. Enough is Enough (EIE)
34. Nigeria Network of NGOs