DSS frees Soyinka, seizes passport

Mr. Adejuwon Soyinka, the Regional Editor of Conversation Africa and investigative journalist, arrested by the nation’s secret police, has been released.

Soyinka was detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) agents at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on Sunday.

Persecondnews recalls that Soyinka’s friend had raised an alarm through a distress message, revealing that he was taken into custody immediately after his arrival from the UK without giving a reason for his arrest.

The message reads: “Adejuwon Soyinka has been detained by officers of the Department of State Security at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

“The incident happened around 5.40 am on Sunday, the 25th of August, 2024, shortly after he arrived in Nigeria via a Virgin Atlantic flight from the United Kingdom.

“As of the time of this report, no reason had been given for his detention by the security agency.

“Soyinka has not been reachable, as messages and calls to his phone have been unanswered.”

The DSS spokesman, Dr. Peter Afunanya, had earlier denied any knowledge of Soyinka’s arrest.

He said: “I am not aware of the matter you have raised and have no comments on it.”

However, in a subsequent message, Soyinka’s friend reported having been released from the DSS’s Ikoyi office, but his passport was confiscated by the agency.

“He has been released. They held onto his passport. He was released from their (DSS) Ikoyi office.”