Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...

organization founded by Fisayo Soyombo in June 2020. FIJ reports on social justice, human rights abuse, and corruption in Nigeria. FIJ's online newspaper began operations on Wednesday, January. 20, 2021 with the publication of the extrajudicial killing of

End SARS End SARS, widely written as #EndSARS, was a decentralised social movement and series of mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria that mainly occurred in 2020. The movement's slogan called for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robb ...

protesters at the

Lekki Lekki is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the south-east of Lagos city. Lekki is a naturally formed peninsula, adjoining to its west Victoria Island and Ikoyi districts of Lagos, with the Atlantic Ocean to its south, Lagos Lag ...

tollgate area on October 20, 2020. Published investigations by the FIJ have led to refunds by the police on extortion, refunds to customers by airlines and banks, and actions by the Nigerian Immigration Service.

Detention of FIJ journalists

On December 13, 2021, Fisayo Soyombo was detained at the headquarters of the

Nigeria Police Force The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency in Nigeria. It was designated by the 1999 constitution as the national police of Nigeria, with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country. As at 2021, i ...

(NPF) in

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

in connection to a story published by FIJ about a police camp project approved in 2018 and scheduled to be completed in 14 weeks. FIJ reported that the then Commissioner of Police in charge of budget and finance approved more than N1billion for police transit camps projects in Benue, Bauchi, Plateau, Katsina, and Kano State. The report stated that after a visit to the project locations, little had been done three years later. He was released few hours later. On August 31, 2023, Damilola Ayeni, a Nigerian journalist and editor of the FIJ was arrested and falsely tagged a Jihadist by the police in Benin Republic while he was investigating a story around the

Pendjari National Park The Pendjari National Park () lies in north-western Benin, adjoining the Arli National Park in Burkina Faso. Named for the Pendjari River, the national park is known for its wildlife and is home to some of the last populations of big game like ...

. 800,000 CFA was demanded for his release. He was released on September 9 after public outcry. Similarly, on instruction of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, men of the NPF National Cybercrime Center (NCCC) abducted Daniel Ojukwu, a reporter with the FIJ. The police detained Daniel at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) from May 1 to May 5, 2024, before transferring him to a cell in Abuja where he stayed until May 10. They denied him access to a lawyer and his family, and only released him after some media pressure.

Investigations

Awards

* Google News Initiative Challenge

References

{{Authority control Journalism organizations Investigative journalism Journalism in Africa Non-profit organizations based in Nigeria Organizations established in 2020 2020 establishments in Nigeria

Detention of FIJ journalists

Investigations

Awards

See also

References