The Department of State Services (DSS) has returned the passport of award-winning investigative journalist, Adejuwon Soyinka, following what they now attribute to a case of mistaken identity.
Soyinka, who serves as the West Africa Regional Editor at The Conversation Africa, retrieved his passport on Friday after visiting the DSS office in Ikoyi, Lagos. He was accompanied by Human Rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong.
The journalist was initially arrested on Sunday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. He was subsequently detained and interrogated for approximately eight hours, first at the DSS Airport Command and later at the agency’s Ikoyi office. Although he was released later that day, his passport was withheld by the DSS.
Speaking after his release, Soyinka stated that no formal charges were brought against him. He further revealed that his name had been placed on the DSS watchlist at the request of an unidentified government agency.
On Friday, Effiong confirmed that Soyinka’s passport had been returned and noted that the DSS operatives attributed the arrest and detention to a possible case of mistaken identity. Effiong remarked, “I went with Soyinka to retrieve his passport today. The secret police’s decision to blame the whole incident on possible mistaken identity did not come as a surprise.”
