Amnesty Condemns Police Raid on JKD TV, Arrest of Manager and Security Guard in Kaduna

Amnesty International has condemned a reported police operation at JKD TV Hamada Radio Network in Kaduna.

Amnesty International has condemned the reported invasion of JKD TV Hamada Radio Network in Millennium City, Kaduna, by armed police officers, following the arrest of the station’s General Manager, Charles Abah, and a security guard.

In a statement issued on Friday, September 11, 2026, Amnesty described the incident as an alleged attack on media freedom and freedom of expression in Nigeria.

According to the organisation, heavily armed police officers entered the station and arrested Abah and the security guard during the operation.

Amnesty said police officers told staff at the station that they had instructions to arrest journalist Zainab Salihu Yabagi over a video explainer produced by JKD Radio and Television concerning Ibrahim Kabir Masari, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Political Affairs.

The organisation said Yabagi had already been declared wanted by the Kaduna State Police Command.

Amnesty expressed concern that the incident could contribute to what it described as a growing climate of fear within Nigerian newsrooms and make journalists more reluctant to report on issues of public interest.

The organisation also argued that public officials should remain subject to scrutiny and criticism, particularly on matters affecting the public.

“An attack on the media is an attack on freedom,” Amnesty said.

The rights organisation called the reported raid and arrests an abuse of power and accused the government of creating an increasingly difficult environment for independent media organisations.

The circumstances surrounding the police operation, the legal basis for the arrests and the whereabouts of those arrested were not independently established in the statement.

Shemariah Media could not independently verify all the allegations contained in Amnesty International’s statement at the time of publication.