DSS Releases Adejuwon Soyinka, Withholds His Passport After Arrest At Lagos Airport

Adejuwon Soyinka, the Regional Editor of The Conversation Africa and an investigative journalist, has been released after being detained by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Adejuwon Soyinka was arrested on Sunday at Lagos’ Muritala Muhammed International Airport shortly after arriving from the United Kingdom.

A friend of Soyinka sent a distress message to The PUNCH, reporting that Soyinka was picked up without explanation and held incommunicado.

The message stated that Soyinka was detained around 5:40 am after landing on a Virgin Atlantic flight.

It read, “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 at 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.”

When contacted on Sunday, the DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya claimed to be unaware of the arrest and offered no comments.

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

Later, another message from Soyinka’s friend confirmed that he had been released by the DSS from their Ikoyi office, but they kept his passport.

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

This comes barely 24 hours after the Nigeria Police Force confirmed the arrest of anonymous whistleblower Bristol Tamunobiefiri, also known as PIDOM, by officials from the National Cybercrime Center.