At about 6 p.m. on July 1, 2026, men in plainclothes suspected to be security operatives stopped Stanley Ugabe, a journalist and reporter with Secrets Reporters, an online news portal in Abuja as he was returning home from an official training session.
According to Secrest Reporters, the men reportedly handcuffed Ugabe, took him to his residence, seized his laptop and phone, blindfolded him, and drove him to an undisclosed location. Ugabe’s neighbours added that about four unidentified armed men arrived at his residence in an unmarked Mitsubishi Pajero SUV with tinted glass and took him away. They said one of the men carried an assault rifle.
According to Secrets Reporters, his apprehension is believed to be connected to an investigative report which among other things alleged that the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria had concealed ownership of a luxury property in the United States.
According to management of Secrets Reporters, checks with the State Security Service (SSS) proved futile as they were informed Ugabe was not in their custody. An alleged confidential source later informed them that the men who apprehended Ugabe were affiliated to the Police Violent Crimes Response Unit (VCRU) in Guzape, Abuja. Lawyers representing Secret Reporters, subsequently visited the Guzape police division on July 2, 2026, but police officials there also denied arresting or detaining the journalist.
According to Fejiro Oliver, editor-in-chief of Secret Reporters, additional team members checked two other police stations for any official record of the operation but found no documentation of Ugabe’s arrest. He also noted that searches conducted at the detention centres in both stations yielded no results.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is calling on the Nigerian Police Force to immediately conduct a transparent investigation into Ugabe’s disappearance and ensure that he is released immediately. We also call on the authorities to ensure that those responsible are brought to book.
