Police, CBN Face Allegations Over Reported Allegations Over Reported Abduction of Journalist Stanley Ugagbe.
The Nigeria Police Force and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have come under scrutiny following allegations that security operatives abducted Secrets Reporters journalist, Stanley Ugagbe, over an investigative report involving the CBN’s Deputy Governor for Operations, Emem Nnanna Etuk Usoro.
The allegations were made on Thursday by the publisher of Secrets Reporters, Fejiro Oliver, who claimed that Ugagbe was seized by armed security operatives shortly after returning from a training programme sponsored by the media organisation.According to Oliver, the journalist was allegedly taken on the orders of the CBN deputy governor in connection with an investigative report published by the news platform.Oliver alleged that the operatives later escorted Ugagbe to his residence, where they confiscated his official phone and laptop.
He claimed the men were armed with Israeli-made Tavor rifles and arrived in an unmarked Mitsubishi Pajero vehicle.Expressing concern over the incident, Oliver said he contacted the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Tosin Ajayi, who, according to him, immediately directed senior officers to verify whether the agency had any involvement in the operation.Oliver said the DSS subsequently informed him that Ugagbe was not in its custody after checks were conducted with the agency’s Federal Capital Territory Command.He further alleged that preliminary findings suggested the possible involvement of police personnel and criticised what he described as the response of senior police authorities, claiming that repeated efforts to trace the journalist across police detention facilities in Abuja yielded no results.Describing the incident as an attack on press freedom and an abuse of power, Oliver called on the authorities to either release Ugagbe immediately or arraign him before a competent court if any offence had been committed.”
The Police should immediately release Stanley or charge him to court,” he said.The alleged incident comes months after Secrets Reporters published an investigative report on January 29, 2026, alleging that court documents in a matrimonial suit filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory named CBN Deputy Governor Emem Nnanna Etuk Usoro as a co-respondent.The publication claimed that the court filings contained allegations of an intimate relationship between Usoro and a married man, Edirin Jerry Wesley, and also alleged that the senior CBN official owned two properties in the United States valued at over ₦4 billion.The claims contained in the earlier investigative report remain allegations contained in court filings and have not been established by any court judgment. Likewise, there has been no official confirmation that the reported abduction of Ugagbe was linked to the publication.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Ms. Emem Nnanna Etuk Usoro, and other relevant authorities had not publicly responded to the allegations, while the whereabouts of the journalist remained unknown.
Joseph Akwagiobe is a media contributor from Cross River State, Nigeria, currently based in Abuja. He is a graduate of Microbiology and has earned several professional certifications across diverse fields, reflecting his commitment to continuous learning, professional growth, and excellence.