Fisayo Soyombo who was arrested and released after spending days in Nigerian Army cell while conducting participatory observation into the activities of Crude oil bunkerers within Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Saturday says Nigerians are worth fighting for, saying, public outcry of Nigerians made him to only spent 3 days in military detention.

Fisayo who took to his facebook profile to pen down some of his observations while in Military detention facility, also granted interview with Arise TV, where he narrated and stated that the Nigerian Army personnel arrested him at the scene of crime but he could not identify himself or refuse to identify himself for obvious security reason because he had been told by the illegal bunkerers that men of the Nigerian Army have been bribed hence introducing himself to the soldiers as a journalist could cost him his life.

Fisayo said: “Nigerians are not worth fighting for.” I hear that every now and then, and I’ve always disbelieved it.

Yesterday, you proved me right. You all are the reason my detention by Nigerian Army lasted ‘only’ three days. I’m a free man today because of your social media engagements with FreeFisayoNow and the publications, broadcasts by the traditional media. And I can prove it.

After my arrest at about 2:00am on Wednesday, I was grilled by different levels of the Army until deep into the night.

I didn’t return to my cell until at least 11pm on Wednesday. My case was then forwarded to a superior office that was to interrogate me on Thursday.

Surprisingly, Thursday was uneventful; from morning until night, this office never sent for me. I soon learnt the Army would take “as long as it wanted” to conduct their “investigation” just to establish that I was indeed an investigative journalist.

To my utmost surprise, on Friday morning, at about 11:00am or thereabouts, I was retrieved from my cell for transfer to the Military Intelligence Brigade (MIB). It was during the transfer that someone who ran into me asked to know my name, after which they said: “You’re the one; you’re in the news.”

Without your pressure, I’d still be in that cell by now, away from civilisation and held incommunicado. So, yes, my freedom is your freedom. This victory exists because of you, you and you. Thank you!”, Fisayo stated.

After granting interview with the Arise TV presenters on Saturday morning, Fisayo returned to his facebook profile to say: “Who are the saboteurs in Nigerian Army and how exalted are they?

I answered questions (asked) by the Army in detention and by the time I regained freedom, the oil bunkerers knew almost every single thing I told my interrogators.

How did oil bunkerers know so much about me before I exited 6 Division?”

Nigerian Army in a press release had identified Fisayo as one of the illegal oil bunkerers arrested at the scene of crime.

“The Headquarters, 6 Division, Nigerian Army, has expressed concern over allegations circulating on social media that it detained an investigative journalist in Port Harcourt. While the Division does not typically engage with the purveyors of falsehoods, it is necessary to set the record straight.

As part of its intensified operations against illegal oil bunkering, the 6 Division Nigerian Army has recorded significant successes.

Recent intelligence uncovered the activities of a notorious gang involved in pipeline vandalism and illegal oil connections in the region.

In a carefully planned operation, troops tracked the suspects to an illegal oil bunkering site. During the operation, multiple arrests were made, including that of Mr Fisayo Soyombo, who was found at the scene.

The suspects, including Mr Soyombo, are currently undergoing preliminary investigations to determine their level of involvement in the illegal activities.

His arrest is directly linked to the ongoing anti-oil theft operations in the region, and any claims suggesting otherwise are baseless. The Division strongly urges media outlets to verify the accuracy of their reports before disseminating information to the public.

The 6 Division Nigerian Army remains committed to combating criminal activities, particularly oil theft, to ensure the protection of national resources and increased oil and gas production in the region. The Nigerian Army assures the public of its dedication to upholding security and welcomes constructive engagements to foster understanding and transparency”, Danjuma Jonah Danjuma, Lieutenant Colonel, Acting Deputy Director, 6 Division, Army Public Relations stated this in a press release issued on Friday.

Fisayo Soyombo gave more account of his investigation with the illegal oil bunkerers, while accusing the Nigerian Army of deliberating compromising his safety when he was in their custody.  

“I will be honest, it is the first time I have genuinely felt my security compromised. I believe the army deliberately – the acting spokesman of the Nigerian army deliberately compromised my security by releasing that statement and linking me to oil bunkerers. I was in detention, I made no mention of oil bunkering, now you’ve gone to tell illegal bunkerers that ‘look, this guy was on your trail.

“I am an investigative and undercover journalist. I was investigating illegal oil bunkering. It happened that someone in the security setup was offended that he didn’t get bribed because the illegal bunkerers would bribe people in security. One got annoyed and tipped off others.

“There was no arrest, the Nigerian Army did not arrest me. They spotted me, flashed their torch, and I came out and wanted to open a conversation.

“I didn’t show them my ID because the illegal bunkerers had said they had settled everyone and the guys who came were the ones that were not settled, and a conversation was going (on) to settle them, so I just thought it was a settlement conversation and I came forward.

“The real growls of the army were that, one, I didn’t carry them along. I won’t deny that I have low trust for Nigerian public institutions – I didn’t trust the army, I didn’t carry them along, but also known illegal oil bunkerers were bribing different people with various security formations and I would endanger my life by carrying them along if I didn’t know who was who. 

“They all felt I was an illegal oil bunkerer, and I played along until they took me to 6th Division. And I thought from then I was speaking with people in offices who were investigating the case; that is when I said I was an undercover journalist and showed them proof.

“Of course, the press is not free in a number of ways, and one of them is that, especially people in security, don’t want to hear the word ‘investigation’. Every encounter I have had with the police, the military, once I say ‘I was investigating’, something just changes in them. They don’t want the press to do any form of independent work,” Fisayo words end in quote.