The Nigerian Army says Fisayo Soyombo, founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), was arrested at an illegal oil bunkering site.
On Friday, FIJ reported that Soyombo has been arrested and detained by the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt for three days.
Since news of his arrest broke, there have been several calls for his immediate release.
But Danjuma Danjuma, acting deputy director of public relations at the 6 Division of the Army, said news of the journalist’s arrest has been “misleading”.
The army said intelligence recently revealed the existence of a “notorious gang of oil thieves noted for bursting pipelines and illegal connections for oil theft in the region”.
Danjuma said troops subsequently trailed the criminals to an illegal oil bunkering site.
“In a subsequent operation carried out, troops swooped on the site, where arrests were made, including one Fisayo Soyombo who was also arrested at the scene,” the statement reads.
“The suspects are currently undergoing preliminary investigation to ascertain their level of involvement or otherwise. Therefore, his arrest is not unconnected with the activities of these oil thieves in the region.
“It is, therefore, important for media outlets to ensure the veracity of their information before they place them in the public domain.
“The Division will like to reassure the general public of its commitment and responsiveness in ensuring the activities of criminal gangs, particularly oil thieves, are drastically curbed in the region. This, it is hoped will shore up oil and gas production in the country.”
Soyombo has repeatedly accused officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of complicity in smuggling.
On November 18, he released a series of videos to back his smuggling allegations.
