The Delta State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on March 3, 2026, summoned a human rights activist and leader of the Young Nigerian Rights Organization (YNRO), Comrade Victor Ojie, to report to the State Intelligence Department (SID) in Asaba following a request for information made by the organization to the State Ministry of Lands and Survey under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011 on petitions and records relating to land disputes in Aniocha South Local Government Area of the State.
The YNRO had filed an FOI request at the Delta State Ministry of Lands and Survey seeking records and petitions relating to land disputes in the Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State. Rather than the Ministry complying with the law by providing the requested information within the statutory seven days or refusing to disclose the information if it had any legitimate grounds to withhold it, it got the Delta State Police Command to issue a summons for Comrade Ojie to appear before the police.
The “Letter of Invitation” from the Police, with Ref. No.: CB:3422/SID/DTS/VOL 3/153, dated March 3, 2026, was addressed to Comrade Victor Ojie (Wong Box Nigeria), Lead Activist, for the Young Nigerian Right Organization, and signed by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ojokoh Julius, Second-in-Command of the State Intelligence Department of the Police in Asaba.
In the letter, DSP Julius referred to the FOI request by the YNRO captioned “FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, 2011, REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO PETITIONS AND RECORDS RELATING TO LAND DISPUTES IN ANIOCHA SOUTH LGA,” and said: “I am directed by the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Police Command, to invite you to an interface meeting with the Assistant Commissioner of Police, State Intelligence Department (SID), Asaba on the above subject matter on Monday 9th March 2026 at 1000hrs.”
He directed that on arrival, Comrade Ojie should contact ASP Njoku Belden to facilitate the meeting.
However, in an “Open Response Letter” addressed to the Delta State Commissioner of Police and the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Intelligence Department in Asaba, Comrade Ojie described the invitation from the Police as “an aberration, legally defective and administratively misplaced.”
He said: “Let it be placed clearly on record: our petition was made strictly pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Act is explicit. It mandates public institutions to respond in writing within the time frame stipulated by law, either by providing the requested information or stating lawful grounds for denial. Nowhere does the Act empower, authorize, or encourage security agencies to summon, intimidate, or ‘invite’ citizens for seeking public records.”
Stressing that “Our request was neither criminal nor conspiratorial”, Comrade Ojie explained that it was “a civic duty undertaken to prevent a recurrence of tragic events such as the 2024 crisis in Okuama and Okoloba, where 17 military personnel lost their lives in a conflict linked to unresolved communal and land disputes”, which he said remained “a national scar”.
According to him, “if transparency had prevailed earlier, perhaps blood would not have been the price”, adding that “civil society exists to amplify the voice of the voiceless, not to be profiled for doing so.”
He insisted that the YNRO would not normalize a dangerous precedent where citizens are summoned by intelligence departments simply for invoking a lawful Act of Parliament, as the FOI Act “is not a trap. It is not an invitation to harassment. It is a constitutional instrument designed to deepen democracy and accountability.”
Comrade Ojie told the Police that if they have “any lawful justification to engage our organization regarding this request, such communication must be made in writing, clearly stating the legal basis. We will not dignify procedural overreach with physical attendance designed to intimidate or create a false narrative.”
He stressed “respectfully but firmly” that a Freedom of Information request is not a petition against the Police; it is not an allegation of crime; it does not require interrogation; it does not require an intelligence interface; and that it requires a written response.
Comrade Ojie argued that Nigeria’s democracy cannot mature if institutions react defensively to transparency, adding that the era where civic inquiry is treated as subversion must remain buried in the past.
He said: “We remain committed to lawful advocacy, prevention of communal conflict, and protection of young Nigerians’ rights. We equally expect the Delta State Police Command to operate strictly within the bounds of the law. History will always favour institutions that choose transparency over intimidation.”
His letter was copied to Delta State Governor Sheriff F.O. Oborevwori; the Deputy Governor, Sir Monday Onyeme; the State Director of the Department of State Services (DSS); the Commissioner of the State’s Ministry of Lands and Survey; and the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice.
