Detained online journalist and activist Tega Sampson Oghenedoro, popularly known by his pseudonym Fejiro Oliver, has applied for bail even as he insists on his innocence.

“The application for bail has been filed in court by his lawyer and will come up for hearing on Tuesday, 30th September, 2014,” said his close friend and human rights activist, Mr. Inibehe Effiong. Fejiro was arrested, arraigned before a Minna magistrate court and remanded in prison custody for allegedly demanding N50 million to drop a sensitive story about the Niger State Government. He has dismissed the “totally false, malicious and baseless allegations of blackmail.”

Effiong in a statement made available to News Express this morning said: “Fejiro has thrown a challenge to the Chief Press Secretary to the Niger State Governor, Mr. Israel A. Ebije, to make public the text messages both of them exchanged between the 22nd to 29th August, 2014 and the details of their GSM voice conversations, especially that of 22nd August, 2014 at about 9pm.

“The substance of the text messages and voice conversations between the duo is that the Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Israel, had insisted on knowing the source of the indicting documents in his possession and had made overtures to Fejiro for a ‘settlement’ which he rejected and because of his unyielding stance, the CPS had threatened to deal with Fejiro in a ‘military manner’.

“The same CPS had equally sent an electronic mail to him with threats. Fejiro stated that he only accepted the pleas of the Secretary to the Niger State Government, Alhaji Saidu Idris Ndako, for an interview so as to obviate the possibility of being accused of bias when he releases the details of his investigations and that it had nothing to do with greed or pecuniary gains and that he has leant his lessons. He has once again challenged the DSS and the Niger State Government to make public any iota of evidence that he ever discussed or demanded N50m or any sum for that matter.”

Effiong said that Fejiro while speaking with him on phone yesterday “conveyed his appreciation to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Niger State Council and the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) for their solidarity and support.”

Continuing, Effiong said: “Both the NUJ and CPJ have not only visited him in the Niger State Medium Prison where he is being held but have been very helpful in the efforts to secure his release from custody. He is encouraged that despite the failed attempts by some disgruntled elements to malign his reputation based on the totally false, malicious and baseless allegations of blackmail against him, both they NUJ and the CPJ have chosen to stand on the side of truth. He views their stance and support as a clear message to those who think that they have the power to cover and divert attention from their dirty dealings and suppress him from exposing the corrupt practices which he had unraveled in the course of his investigations into the activities of the Niger State Government. He prays that the Almighty God will reward them immensely for living up to their mandate and for rising in defence of truth, justice and the integrity of the media.”

Effiong said that “Fejiro Oliver has expressed his gratitude to the media, the human rights community and members of the public for standing by him in his trying times and assures them that he will be vindicated.”

Update news