Imagine returning from a routine professional training, expecting to head home after a long day, only to seemingly vanish without a trace.
That is the mystery now surrounding Stanley Ugagbe, a journalist with Secrets Reporters, whose reported disappearance has ignited fresh debate about press freedom, the limits of state power and the safety of investigative reporters in Nigeria.
His employer alleges that unidentified security operatives intercepted him shortly after he left the training programme before later searching his residence and taking away his work devices.
The claims, which have not been independently verified, have since drawn the Nigeria Police Force and the Central Bank of Nigeria into the centre of a growing controversy linked to an earlier investigative report involving the CBN’s Deputy Governor for Operations, Emem Nnanna Etuk Usoro.
Publisher Alleges Reporter Was Taken After Training
The alarm was raised by the publisher of Secrets Reporters, Fejiro Oliver, who claimed Ugagbe was intercepted on Wednesday shortly after returning from a training programme sponsored by the media organisation.
According to Oliver, the journalist was allegedly taken by security operatives before they later proceeded to his residence, where they reportedly searched the premises and confiscated his official work devices, including his laptop and mobile phone.
He alleged that the operation was linked to a story previously published by the online platform concerning the CBN’s Deputy Governor for Operations, Emem Nnanna Etuk Usoro.
Oliver further claimed the operation raised troubling questions about the treatment of journalists investigating issues involving public officials.
Claims Of Search For Journalist Across Security Facilities
The publisher said efforts to determine Ugagbe’s whereabouts immediately after the incident proved unsuccessful.
According to him, he reached out to the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Tosin Ajayi, who allegedly initiated internal checks.
Oliver claimed the DSS informed him that the agency was not responsible for the journalist’s arrest and that officials in the Federal Capital Territory also denied having him in custody.
He added that subsequent visits to several police facilities in Abuja equally failed to establish Ugagbe’s location.
The publisher said the inability of security agencies to immediately account for the journalist’s whereabouts had heightened concerns among colleagues and supporters.
Call For Immediate Release Or Court Appearance
Oliver urged the Nigeria Police Force to either release the journalist or formally present him before a court if any offence had been committed.
He argued that journalists should not be subjected to intimidation or arbitrary detention over investigative reports, warning against the alleged use of criminal complaints to silence media practitioners.
Report Linked To Senior CBN Official
The controversy comes months after Secrets Reporters published an investigative report concerning Usoro.
The publication referenced documents filed in a matrimonial case before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and made allegations relating to the CBN official’s personal affairs and assets, including claims about properties in the United States.
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Those allegations remain unverified in this report, and there has been no judicial determination establishing their accuracy.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Nigeria Police Force nor the Central Bank of Nigeria had publicly responded to the allegations made by the publisher, while the whereabouts and status of the journalist remained unclear.