Jalingo, the publisher of CrossRiverWatch, was arrested on August 22, 2019, over a report alleging that Cross River State governor, Ben Ayade, diverted N500 million belonging to the state.

Justice Sule Shuaibu of the Federal High Court, Calabar, on Thursday granted the journalist N10 million bail, following an application from his lawyer, Attah Ochinke.

The court also asked that those standing as surety for the journalist must make a refundable deposit of N700,000 to court registry to perfect the bail.

Meanwhile, Jalingo was earlier denied bail twice by another judge, Simon Amobeda, who recently withdrew from the case after a secret recording where he (Amobeda) allegedly made some “biased” remarks against Mr Jalingo, was leaked to the press late last year.

Mr Amobeda is also a judge of the Federal High Court, Calabar.

Mr Jalingo’s case is prosecuted by the Cross River government which took over the case from the police. On the prosecution team were led by the Attorney General of Cross River state, Tanko Ashang, and the Director of Public Prosecution in the state’s Ministry of Justice, Greg Okem.

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Jalingo is set to appear at a federal high court in Calabar city tomorrow on amended charges, including cybercrime relating to his outlet’s reporting on Cross River Governor Benedict Ayade, and terrorism, according to a charge sheet, which CPJ reviewed, and Jalingo’s lawyer, Attah Ochinke, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview.

“The ongoing, opaque prosecution of Agba Jalingo for his journalism remains a grave display of the threats journalists face working in Nigeria,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator.

“Nigerian authorities should drop the charges against Jalingo, stop using cybercrime and anti-terrorism legislation to silence the press, and reform these laws to ensure they cannot be used against journalists”. Angela added.

Jalingo has been jailed since August 22, 2019, when he was arrested and initially charged with disturbance of public peace and treason, as CPJ documented at the time. In October 2019, he was denied bail and a federal high court in Calabar blocked public access to the courtroom and granted anonymity to individuals expected to present evidence against him, a move his lawyer said would limit the defense’s ability to challenge false testimony, CPJ reported at the time. Jalingo currently has another bail application pending, Ochinke said.

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On August 22, in Lagos, police officers with Nigeria’s special anti-robbery squad arrested Jalingo, publisher of online news outlet CrossRiverWatch, according to Attah Ochinke, Jalingo’s lawyer, and Jeremiah Achibong, an editor at CrossRiverWatch, who spoke with CPJ over the phone.

On August 23, authorities transferred Jalingo to a detention facility run by the anti-cult and anti-kidnapping police in Calabar, the capital of Nigeria’s southern Cross River state, and are holding him there without charge, Ochinke said.

“Nigerian authorities should immediately release Agba Jalingo and permit CrossRiverWatch journalists to cover issues in their state without harassment,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “The arrest and intimidation of journalists in Nigeria for their critical reporting is unacceptable, as is holding Jalingo for days without charge.”

Before his arrest, Jalingo told CPJ over the phone that, on August 16, he was invited for questioning by police officers in Calabar over a complaint brought by the state-owned Cross River Microfinance Bank. On July 17, CrossRiverWatchhad reported on alleged corruption involving the bank and Benedict Ayade, the governor of Cross River state.

According to a copy of the police invitation, which CPJ reviewed, Jalingo was summoned because his name was mentioned in a police investigation of “Conspiracy to cause Unrest and Conduct likely to Cause Breach of Peace, reported by the Cross River Microfinance Bank.”

The invitation requested Jalingo attend an interview with Calabar police on August 19. Jalingo told CPJ he informed the police that he would honor the invitation when he returned to Cross River state on August 26. Police arrested him in Lagos on August 22.

Achibong and CrossRiverWatch reporter Ugbal Jonathan told CPJ that they believe Ayade is retaliating against CrossRiverWatch for the outlet’s critical reporting. Achibong and Jonathan were both arrested in Cross River state earlier this month, according to CPJ reporting.

In a phone conversation with CPJ, Christian Ita, Ayade’s spokesperson, declined to comment on CrossRiverWatch’s corruption allegations and said he read in the press that Jalingo’s arrest was related to his alleged involvement in the #RevolutionNow protests, held on August 5, and denied Ayade’s involvement in the arrest.

CPJ’s calls to the Cross River state police commissioner, Austin Agbonlahor, and his spokesperson, Irene Ugbo, went unanswered. A member of the board of the Microfinance Bank, Godwin Akwaji, told CPJ via phone that he was not in position to speak about the corruption allegations or the bank’s allegations against Jalingo.

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