Nigerian journalist Zainab Sodiq arrested and denied due process

On July 8, the State Security Service, also known as the Department of State Services or DSS, detained Sodiq, a videographer and journalist who also covers the political activities of Omoyele Sowore, founder of the Sahara Reporters outlet and a presidential candidate in Nigeria’s upcoming elections. The intelligence agency said in a July 9 press release, also posted on X, that Sodiq was “intercepted” July 6 as she sought to board a flight from Lagos to Abuja, the capital, with a drone, without possessing the required End User Certificate. The DSS permitted her to board and ordered her to report to their offices on July 8, which she did. She was detained on arrival at the DSS office. Sowore said he told the DSS that he owned the drone and he believed Sodiq was detained in connection to her coverage of his events and his ongoing trial for cybercrime and defamation charges and her secret June 22 recording of DSS officials’ physical harassment of Sowore inside a federal high court in Abuja.