DSS Reportedly Planning To Arrest Investigative Journalist Fisayo Soyombo

DSS Reportedly Planning To Arrest Investigative Journalist Fisayo Soyombo

The Department of State Services (DSS) is reportedly planning to arrest Fisayo Soyombo, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ). A security source, speaking anonymously, disclosed to FIJ on Wednesday that the DSS has been tracking Soyombo’s movements and could arrest him “at any moment” once they locate him……CONTINUE READING 

While the specific reason for the DSS’s interest in Soyombo remains unclear, speculation suggests it may be linked to his work as an investigative journalist. Soyombo is renowned for his undercover reports and vocal social criticism, particularly on X (formerly Twitter), as well as his leadership at FIJ.

One of his recent investigations, titled ‘Undercover As A Smuggler,’ exposed illegal smuggling and arms trafficking in Nigeria. The report implicated several high-ranking officials, including the current Comptroller-General of Customs, Hussein Ejibunu, and other senior officers in the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). A notorious smuggler, IBD Dende, was also caught on camera threatening to kill an Assistant Superintendent of Customs (ASC) who had intercepted his contraband.

Soyombo has also gained attention for his criticisms of the DSS on social media, where he has highlighted the agency’s history of targeting journalists and activists. FIJ’s investigations further extended to a report on First Lady Oluremi Tinubu’s alleged receipt of N700 million from the state house for foreign currency purchases related to official trips between November and March.

Soyombo has faced threats and detentions before, including by the Nigeria Police Force’s Cyber Crime Centre and the Inspector General of Police’s Monitoring Unit after voluntarily responding to their invitations. In 2016, the Nigerian Army accused him of subversion following his series on the treatment of soldiers injured in the Boko Haram conflict. He was also targeted by the Nigeria Immigration Service in 2019 after his undercover stint in police and prison custody, but public outrage forced them to back down.