By Emmanuel Thomas l Friday, Sept 11, 2026
KADUNA — In what human rights watchdogs describe as an unprecedented, brazen assault on press freedom, heavily armed police officers today invaded the operational headquarters of JKD TV and Hamada Radio Network at Millennium City, Kaduna, arbitrarily arresting the station’s General Manager, Mr. Charles Abah, and a security guard.
The dawn raid, which has drawn fierce condemnation from Amnesty International, represents a terrifying escalation in state-sponsored attacks against independent journalism under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
According to operational sources, the contingent of heavily armed security personnel stormed the media house on September 11, 2026, creating panic and disrupting broadcasting operations.
Security forces later claimed they were executing “instructions” from higher authorities to arrest prominent journalist Zainab Salihu Yabagi over a investigative video explainer produced by the network regarding Mr. Ibrahim Kabir Masari, Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs.
In a desperate bid to clamp down on the journalist, the Kaduna State Police Command had previously declared Yabagi wanted and unlawfully arrested her husband — a tactics rights advocates describe as illegal “hostage-taking” by law enforcement.
Reacting swiftly, Amnesty International issued a scathing condemnation, characterising the raid as a direct attempt to instil fear across Nigerian newsrooms.
”Attacking JKD Radio/Television is part of a wider pattern of attempts to create a climate of fear across newsrooms in Nigeria and to make it harder for journalists to do their job,” the rights group stated. “An attack on the media is an attack on freedom. No government official — no matter his status — is above scrutiny and criticism in the interest of the public.”
Amnesty emphasized that such relentless targeting of independent media outlets aims solely to deprive the public of fair, objective, and vital reporting on critical national issues.
Escalating Media Repression: The invasion of JKD TV/Hamada Radio is not an isolated incident. Over the past three years, press freedom watchdogs have tracked a alarming surge in the arbitrary detention of journalists, cyberstalking charges used to muzzle reporters, and state-backed harassment of newsrooms investigating public officials.
The “Hostage-Taking” Precedent: The detention of Zainab Yabagi’s husband mirrors a disturbing police trend where family members of investigative journalists are unlawfully seized as leverage to force reporters into custody.
Constitutional Rights under Threat: Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria explicitly guarantees freedom of expression and the press, while Section 22 imposes an obligation on the media to hold the government accountable to the people. Direct police invasions of media infrastructure flagrantly subvert these constitutional safeguards.
