A content creator, Adebukola Kolapo, has allegedly been in the custody of the National Cybercrime Centre of the Nigeria Police Force, in Abuja, for three weeks over his frequent engagements on posts made by a popular Instagram gossip blog, ‘Gistloverblog Mediaoutlet’.
Kolapo was an active follower of the blog and was once a beneficiary of the blog’s scholarship scheme in 2022.
He was reportedly arrested by policemen, alongside a co-follower of the blog, Nnedum Dollar, after they were deceived by yet-to-be-identified clients to host an event for them at the Agbala Itura area in Ibadan, on December 3, 2023.
The content creator’s father, Amidu Kolapo, said his son was nabbed because he was a fan of Gistloverblog alleging that the arrest was unlawful because he did not commit any crime.
He said, “My son lives with me, so he told me they invited him to a party at Agbala Itura in Ibadan as an MC. In the evening, he called me on the phone that he had been arrested by policemen and said it was because of Gistloverblog.
“He was taken to the Iyaganku Police Station in Ibadan. So, I went to see my son but was told he was not in the station. A police officer suggested I should check the Eleyele Police Station.
“The next day, I went to the Eleyele Police Station and was told he was not there either. So, I was advised to go back to the Iyaganku Police Station again. When I got there, I saw his car on their premises, but I was told the same story.
“When a police officer noticed I was worried, he revealed that my son had been taken to Abuja, and suggested I should get a lawyer. I asked him about his offence, but he said it was unknown, and that the arrest was made by some police officers from Abuja who used their station that day and took him along with them that same day.
He claimed that his son had been in the custody of the police in Abuja since that day and, that he had not been able to reach him because the fare from Abuja to Ibadan was expensive.
Kolapo said he heard that the brain behind the gossip blog had got a lawyer for his son and had started processing how to get him out of detention, but the police officers were frustrating the action.
He said, “The lawyer said they asked for surety from a Level 14 officer, then, they made a U-turn, and requested a surety from a Level 16 officer after all documents meant for his release had been signed. The reason for his arrest remains unknown. He was just detained, I want Nigerians to help me”, he concluded.
A man, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that their arrest was unlawful, but noted that it was a result of their active engagements on the gossip blog page on Instagram.
“Adebukola and Nnedum are in detention without committing any offense. They arrested them because of their active engagements on the blog. They thought arresting them would help in detecting the brain behind the blog. I am not safe because I am an active follower too”, he said.
Efforts made to contact the Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, were not successful as he did not respond to calls and texts from our correspondent at the time of filing this report.