From A Pre-Action Article to Police Invitation: Online News Editors Express Worries on Stifled Press Freedom
By Naomisophyblog
Under the guise of “fact finding exercise” The editors of Newsconnect Online Elias Abayomi Adagunduro and Abraham Adaranijo of ClipTV online have received official invitations from the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2 Headquarters, Lagos, demanding their presence over a publication on their respective platforms.
In a syndicated publication dated February 19, 2025, Newsconnect Online published an article titled “Forgery, Double Standards, and the Nigerian Judicial Circus: A Case Study in Impunity”. While Cliptvonline titled its publication Selective Justice: Alleged Fraudster Evades Police, Demands Travel Expenses.
The crux of the message syndicated by these online news platforms was basically a call to action by law enforcement officers and Firstbank Trustees. This call was made on the news platforms to investigate alleged forgery case levied by Dr Femi Olaleye against his estranged wife Aderemi Fagbemi Olaleye.
According to the article, Aderemi upon getting an invitation for questioning from the Office of Inspector General of Police requested the Police to pay for her flight ticket so she can travel to clear herself. A privilege Afro-hiphop star musician Habeeb Okikiola popularly called ‘PORTABLE’ never got.
Mrs Aderemi Olaleye who wasn’t pleased with the tone of the message of the bloggers through her lawyer issued a ‘Cease and Desist’ letter compelling the bloggers to pull down the story within seven days.
The news platforms having gone through the letter served by Aderemi’s lawyers, didn’t only adjust the article to address her concerns, but also informed her lawyers about the adjustment and their intention not to malign their clients.
The online news platforms issued a corrigendum on the 24th of February 2025 titled ‘Retraction and apology Notice ‘which was published on the same platforms for some wordings in the article which didn’t sit well with her.
Again, the aforementioned platforms having apologized for the ‘choices’ of words, reiterated that the article is evidence based, hence it is needless to pull down the story.
In an article authored by one Victoria Ojugbana Published in Independent Newspaper on 25th February 2025 titled “Defilement Case: Stop Tarnishing my Image, Reputation, Wife Warns Medical Doctor”, Aderemi in her allusion to the disposition of the article Newsconnect Online and Cliptv had published recently said to some journalists that;
“He is not satisfied that the court is tilting towards a peaceful resolution on the children and the property. He then wrote a petition to the Inspector General of Police in Abuja that I forged some documents and registered the property in my name. How will you say I forged the documents of something that belongs to both of us?
““He wrote petitions to the Police and they sent a message to my WhatsApp that I should come to Abuja. I forwarded the petition to my lawyer, who wrote back to them that the case is in court and that he didn’t see any reason for me to go to Abuja.
““He said that I am a single mother and that if they wanted me to come to Abuja, I had to go with my children as nobody would take care of them. He said they should buy flight tickets for us and that they should back it up with a court order since my husband said that I forcefully evicted him from the house.
““We forwarded the court order that told him to vacate the house and the children’s custody order to the Inspector General of Police. May be the IG saw that there was truth in it, he said that if Dr. Olaleye had any petition, he should take it to the Lagos Police Command, but he is in London now.
““When he saw that his plan failed, he launched a smear campaign against me in some online newspaper and television media.
““They placed my picture, and that of the IG on the story. They used my old picture, where I was sick. They said that Police invited me that I didn’t go and that they should invite me immediately for refusing their summon.
““They know what the IG said, but they are pretending. Initially, they didn’t add the picture of Dr. Olaleye, they later added it so that it can look like balanced. They paired my picture with that of Portable, when he was declared wanted by the Police and that I was wanted too”.
The question is, is she not wanted with the invitation extended to her by the Office of Inspector General of Police for questioning over the alleged forgery levied against her by her estranged husband ?
She proceeded and said;
“My lawyer wrote ‘Cease and Desist’ letter to my husband and gave him and the bloggers 48 hours to pull down all the malicious stories about me and tender an apology. There is a petition against them with the IG. They called me accused and said that I forged documents.
““They said why would FBN Trust forge documents for me. He is looking for a way to get a reaction from me and FBN. I wonder why he did not put the story in the mainstream media.
““He wants the Police to declare me wanted to blackmail me and it backfired on him,” she stated.
Fagbemi-Olaleye disclosed that they got married in 2011 and are blessed with two children. She said that prior to the marriage, her husband had divorced his first wife in the United Kingdom.
According to her, she met Dr. Olaleye while she was a staff of Globacom, where he had gone to look for job and he was brought to her.
She said that she asked why he was looking for job there and that he told her how his former wife molested him in the UK and that he was living in one room apartment in Oshodi. In her words, she said;
“He had a small clinic that was not registered, he used someone’s registration. We had our first child in 2012. He once impregnated a staff of Virgin Atlantic who later had a child for him.
“Our marriage was characterised by so much infidelity, adultery, and domestic violence in his part. He used to beat me a lot. He had a file at the Office of the Public Defender. Neighbours used to come to rescue me anytime he beate me and I kept enduring.
““After our wedding, the woman that helped him get license for the hospital withdrew her license and he was left with no job.
““We attended the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David Parish, Lekki, Lagos. They wanted to have a cancer center and work with him as he said he was a gynaecologist and obstetrician.
““He went to Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State. I later resigned from Globacom as I couldn’t have a baby then.
“The RCCG employed him to manage a cancer center in Masha, Surulere. He later had issues with the church as they did the project as a Joint Venture. They had 60%, while he had 40%.
“He subsequently had issues with them and they terminated the appointment. I was then running a party rentals in Surulere and I had a big place for it. I then vacated the ground floor of the office for him so that he could be practicing his profession in a small way.
“He eventually got an office at 118 Bode Thomas Street, Surulere. He said he wanted to do gynaecology center that he would be seeing patients there. I supported him financially and morally to start the place. He later said it would be turned into an NGO and I wondered why,” she said.
She stated that the hospital was named Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, and that her husband started with free screening and that he was collecting just N500 from people, but that this affected the home.
However, Fagbemi-Olaleye said she advised him that as a medical doctor, he could acquire some sophisticated equipment for his job, but that he said he could do so if she could assist him financially as the equipment could be imported from China.
She said that she bought it for him with her United States of America credit card and that it was shipped to Nigeria.
“He started collecting N150,000 and more for surgeries. However, the nurses he working with him were people that were living with him in Oshodi, who had no certificate.
“I told him this could affect his name that he should hire trained nurses. The Ministry of Health used to lock the hospital regularly because of this.
“Whenever they locked the hospital, he would call me and I would call people in Alausa as I consult for the state government and they would reopen it.
“None of his nurses was qualified. He didn’t even have a doctor. He later had one who left when she could not cope with what was happening in the hospital.
“I once caught him red handed having sex with a nurse in his office in Surulere.
“I dragged the girl from the place with her wig. I was the one that even employed the lady. He came home that day and picked a few things and left the house. I was five months pregnant then.
“He didn’t come back home until my son was over a year old. I caught him severally for infidelity. I was responsible for the care of my two children. He came back in 2016 as I had my son in January 2015. He later came back and begged me. I was ready to support him as we were paying house rents together for nine years.
“Later, my landlord told me about a property that I could develop. When he came back, I told him about it. We went to the developer. The developer looked at our income and our books and felt that I had a good income. We borrowed money and paid the man. I endured and I paid from my income and I forced him to also contribute,” she said.
Fagbemi-Olaleye stated that she contributed more money for the building of the house, which she said is the house her husband is now claiming to be his own and asking him and the children to vacate despite the fact that they both signed that the house should be kept in trust for their children with the FBN and that he has been ordered not to go near the house by the court.
In his reaction to the statements made by his estranged wife published in Independent Newspaper on the 25th of February 2025, Dr Femi Olaleye’s response titled “STATEMENT BY DR. OLUFEMI OLALEYE ON RECENT MEDIA REPORTS” reads;
” I have become aware of a recent article published in Independent Newspapers, in which my estranged wife, Aderemi Fagbemi-Olaleye, has made several false and misleading claims about me, my career, and my legal situation. While I have remained focused on due process, I now find it necessary to correct the record and set the facts straight.
“1. I Was Acquitted – The “Fleeing Justice” Narrative is False.
“It is categorically false to suggest that I am evading justice. The verifiable facts are as follows:
“I was convicted by a Lagos High Court in 2023 but lawfully exercised my right to appeal. In November 2024, the Court of Appeal discharged and acquitted me, overturning the conviction.
“As a free citizen, I have the right to travel. The claim that I “escaped” justice is a blatant distortion of reality. The Lagos State Government’s appeal to the Supreme Court does not invalidate the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
“Until the Supreme Court rules otherwise, the Appeal Court’s decision remains binding.
“My Clinic Was Built Without Any Financial Support from Her. My estranged wife falsely claims that she helped finance my medical practice. This is an outright lie.
“I built and financed my clinic independently, without any contribution from her. Every piece of medical equipment was acquired through my own personal resources and professional earnings.
“There is no record—bank statements, contracts, or legal agreements—indicating any financial contribution from her. I challenge her to produce credible evidence—not fabricated claims—to back up this assertion.
“I Never Used “Untrained Hands” – My Clinic Was Fully Accredited. Another baseless claim is that my clinic operated with untrained staff. This is completely false and an insult to the dedicated professionals who worked under me.
“My clinic was accredited by the Health Facility Monitoring & Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) up until 2022.
HEFAMAA does not grant accreditation to facilities that employ untrained personnel. Any suggestion that my clinic was unsafe or improperly staffed is pure fiction.
“Questionable Credentials: Who is Truly Misrepresenting Facts? My estranged wife presents herself as a qualified professional, yet she has been involved in the use of forged academic certificates to boost her credibility.
“Unlike her, I am a fully qualified and licensed medical professional with accreditation from the Medical & Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) until my ordeal—which she instigated.
“The attached fake MBA certificate in her name raises serious questions about her credibility and her repeated misrepresentation of facts.The Smear Campaign Must Stop.
“For months, I have endured false accusations, media misrepresentation, and character assassination. I have maintained my silence out of respect for legal proceedings, but I will no longer allow this deliberate rewriting of history to go unchallenged.
“The public deserves truth—not a fabricated victim narrative. I remain committed to clearing my name and pursuing justice through legal and ethical channels, rather than through media manipulation”. He said.
In the light of the foregoing, there is clear violation of press freedom.
The Nigerian Constitution, under Section 39, guarantees freedom of expression and the press. Similarly, Nigeria is a signatory to international conventions protecting journalists from state-backed intimidation. Yet, the reality on the ground tells a different story—one where police institutions are used as tools of oppression rather than protectors of justice.
The Way Forward: End Police Harassment of Journalists
If anyone feels defamed by a publication, the appropriate step is to seek redress in court, not to misuse state security agencies.
I call on:
• The Inspector General of Police to intervene and ensure that the Nigerian Police is not used as a private enforcement agency for defamation claims.
• Civil society organizations and press freedom groups to take up this matter and hold authorities accountable.
• The Nigerian public to resist these oppressive tactics and stand in solidarity with journalists who are courageously reporting the truth.
Press freedom is a cornerstone of democracy. The use of police to intimidate, detain, or harass journalists is an attack on the very principles of justice and free speech. This must stop.
