Amnesty International has strongly condemned the arbitrary arrest, detention and hasty sentencing of a 23-year-old journalist, Farida Isiak, in Kaduna State, describing the action as vindictive, unlawful and a travesty of justice.
The global human rights organization, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said Farida Isiak, a reporter with Nagarta Radio in Kaduna, was targeted solely for attempting to expose abuses by officers of the Nigeria Police Force.
According to Amnesty International, the incident that led to her ordeal started as a minor disagreement involving her mother and a neighbour over a 100 naira change dispute during a sale of charcoal.
The organization disclosed that police officers from Mararaban Jos Division, acting under the command of the Divisional Police Officer, Usman Adamu, initially arrested Farida’s mother over the dispute. When her father went to the station to secure his wife’s release, he was also detained.
Amnesty International said the detention of her parents was used as leverage to force the young journalist to present herself at the police station.
Farida was eventually taken into custody around 10:00 p.m. on Monday, 20 October, 2025, by officers attached to the division.
Upon her arrival at the station, police officers accused her of defaming them because of a Facebook post she had written criticizing their unlawful treatment of her parents.
The rights group said even though Farida complied with police demands to delete the post and tender an apology in the hope of securing her parents’ freedom, the officers refused to release her.
Instead, she was kept in custody and hurriedly arraigned before a Sharia Court in Kawo, Kaduna, where she was convicted.
The presiding judge sentenced her to four years in prison or a fine of 1.75 million naira on charges of defamation, completely ignoring the initial police misconduct and the abusive circumstances that led to the incident.
Amnesty International described the trial as a sham and the sentence as a flagrant abuse of power by the police and weaponization of the judicial system to silence free speech and intimidate journalists.
“Sentencing a journalist to 4-years in prison after a sham trial is a travesty of justice. Her arrest and subsequent punishment were clearly because of her attempt to expose abuses by the police,” the organization stated.
The group further condemned the tactic of arresting and holding a citizen’s parents to force a journalist to hand herself over, describing it as an unlawful tactic that violates the rule of law and constitutional guarantees.
“Demanding accountability for police actions is a constitutional right. The arrest, detention, and hasty sentencing of Farida Isiak are a flagrant abuse of power by the police and weaponization of the judicial system to silence free speech and intimidate journalists,” Amnesty said.
Amnesty International has therefore called on the Kaduna State Police Command and Nigerian judicial authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Farida Isiak, drop all charges against her, and cancel the 1.75 million naira fine imposed on her.
The organization also demanded that the Nigeria Police Force launch a full and independent investigation into the conduct of the police officers involved in the unlawful detention of her family members and her subsequent arraignment.
It warned that Nigerian authorities must stop using defamation charges and the legal system as tools to harass journalists and restrict press freedom.
“Arresting and holding a citizen’s parents to force a journalist to hand herself over is an unlawful tactic that violates rule of law,” the statement added.
News Century TV reports that the case has sparked outrage among journalists and press freedom advocates in Kaduna and beyond, with many describing the four-year sentence over a Facebook post as excessive and an attempt to gag the media.
