The Kaduna State Police Command has dismissed claims that it arbitrarily arrested and hastily sentenced Nagarta Radio journalist Farida Isiak, describing media reports characterizing the incident as an attempt to silence the press as misleading and unverified.
The command was reacting to the position of the Amnesty International Nigeria which described as the arrest, detention and sentencing of Farida Isiak as vindictive and a travesty of justice.
In an official statement released by the Command’s spokesperson Mansur Hassan, the police authorities said Isiak’s detention stemmed from a highly defamatory and abusive social media post targeted at the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Maraban Jos and his family, rather than her professional work as a journalist.
According to the police, the incident originated from a personal disagreement following an administrative request made by Isiak. Shortly after the encounter, the journalist allegedly published a statement on her public Facebook page reading:
“THE POLICE FORCE IS FUCKED UP THAT’S WHY THEY DON’T END WELL. I’M GOING TO TAG YOU TO THIS POST SO YOU KNOW I’M TALKING ABOUT YOUR WIFE, NOT SO SORRY TO SAY, YOU MARRIED WRONG. MARABAN JOS DPO, I’M NOT SORRY TO SAY, YOU’VE FAILED AS A LEADER.”
The Command maintained that the matter must be evaluated objectively based on the facts of criminal defamation and personal attacks, rather than being falsely framed as an assault on press freedom.
To prevent further escalation and preserve the long-standing professional relationship between the police and the media, the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police personally intervened to mediate the dispute. Following direct intervention, the matter was amicably resolved.
The Command expressed deep concern over media organizations that publish retaliatory or parallel condemnations of law enforcement without conducting proper fact-verification or seeking the police’s perspective. The statement warned that irresponsible journalism risks presenting one-sided accounts that unfairly damage institutional reputations and undermine public trust.
