The Nigeria Police Force has released Adenike Atanda, wife of  Sodeeq Atanda, a senior investigative Journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), following her detention alongside her nine-month-old baby at a Divisional Police Headquarters at  Owutu area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.

FIJ reported that Adenike and the infant were released on Monday evening, shortly after police operatives arrested her husband, Sodeeq Atanda, who was later released on order of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbtokun.

According to FIJ, Adenike and the baby were earlier taken to a police station in Owutu, where they were allegedly detained for several hours as “bait” to get her husband arrested.

According to a Tuesday publication by FIJ, cited by TVC News, Adenike said she was instructed to call Atanda and tell him that their child was ill and had been taken to the hospital.

“When they realised my husband was no longer far from the house, the policemen drove me and my baby and me to a street not far from our home. And when they saw him, they handcuffed him and took him away. That was when they released my baby and me,” she told FIJ.

FIJ said Atanda was immediately taken from the area to the Force Headquarters annexe, Obalende, Lagos, where he was detained for several hours before his eventual release just before midnight.

The organisation linked the incident to an earlier attempt to invite Atanda for questioning.

According to FIJ, on November 26, a person identified as ‘Omo Eleniyan’, who claimed to be attached to the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit at the Force Headquarters, contacted the journalist via WhatsApp.

“I’m a police officer attached to the IGP Monitoring Unit, Lagos Annexe. An approved petition was referred to my department from the office of the Inspector-General of Police for further investigation, and your name has been mentioned and alleged. That was why you have been invited, sir. Thanks for cooperation and understanding,” the message read.

FIJ said Atanda responded by providing the organisation’s official email address and requested that any formal invitation be sent through that channel.

However, the sender reportedly replied, “The invitation is for you, not for the organisation.”

When Atanda insisted that such communication should go through FIJ, the organisation said the sender responded, “Alright, sir. No problem.”

FIJ added that no further communication was received until Monday evening, when Adenike and the couple’s infant were detained.

However, in a statement on Tuesday, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, noted that IGP Kayode Egbetokun, upon learning of the situation, frowned at the development and ordered the immediate release of the journalist.

Hundeyin said, “In as much as you might want your depiction of the IGP to be true, it isn’t. I was with him last night when Mojeed Musikilu of the International Press Institute reached out to me about the arrest. I promptly informed the IGP, and he was miffed. You might choose to believe I am making this up, but it is the truth.”

“He directed that the head of the unit (not a DPO as you claimed) be contacted to release the journalist immediately. I updated Mojeed accordingly.”

“The IGP was particularly angry that this came up at a time when the Police had pledged and are taking tangible steps to ensure press freedom. He equally ordered that the head of that unit be sanctioned for his conduct.

“IGP Egbetokun does not want and would not condone any setback to our support for press freedom,” Hundeyin added.