Investigative journalist Zainab Sodiq has filed a fundamental-rights enforcement suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Director-General of the State Security Service, the SSS and one of its operatives, Abdulwahab Habib, over her alleged unlawful arrest and detention.
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Sodiq is demanding ₦4 billion in damages and the immediate return of several mobile phones and a DJI Mavic Air 2 drone allegedly seized from her by security operatives.
In the court processes, Sodiq alleged that her rights to personal liberty, human dignity, privacy, property, freedom of expression and fair hearing were violated during and after her detention at the SSS National Headquarters in Abuja.
She maintained that her arrest was founded on administrative directives referred to by the security agency as “NSA Extant Regulations,” rather than any written law enacted by the National Assembly.
According to her account, she was travelling from Lagos to Abuja when aviation security personnel intercepted her at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport over the DJI Mavic Air 2 drone in her possession.
She alleged that the aviation security officials handed her over to an SSS officer identified as Ifeanyi, who confiscated the drone and informed her that an End User Certificate was required for it.
The officer reportedly allowed her to continue her journey but directed her to retrieve the device from another security officer identified as Musa in Abuja.
Sodiq claimed that she later reported to the SSS office in Abuja on July 8, 2026, believing that she was going there to retrieve the seized drone and resolve the documentation issue.
She alleged that the invitation was a ruse and that she was arrested at gunpoint immediately after arriving at the premises.
According to the journalist, security operatives also approached the taxi waiting outside the facility and retrieved her personal belongings before taking her to the SSS National Headquarters.
She claimed that she was detained incommunicado from July 8 until July 10, denied prompt access to her family and questioned about her activities as an investigative journalist.
Sodiq alleged that she was eventually released without being formally charged before any court or informed of a specific criminal offence recognised under Nigerian law.
Despite her release, she claimed that the security agency continued to retain her professional and personal equipment.
The devices listed in the suit include an iPhone 13 Pro, Samsung Galaxy A15, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro Max and the DJI Mavic Air 2 drone.
She described the phones and drone as essential professional tools containing private information, journalistic materials, contacts and other data required for her work.
The journalist argued that the continued seizure of the devices without a criminal charge, judicial authorisation or pending prosecution amounted to an unlawful interference with her rights to privacy, property and freedom of expression.
A central question raised in the suit concerns the legal status of the regulations cited by the SSS as authority for the arrest and confiscation of the drone.
Sodiq maintained that no Act of the National Assembly criminalises the mere possession or transportation of a commercially available drone without an End User Certificate.
She argued that while government agencies may make administrative regulations governing the acquisition, registration or operation of drones, such directives cannot independently create a criminal offence or authorise the detention of a citizen.
The applicant relied on Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that no person may be convicted of a criminal offence unless the offence is defined and the punishment prescribed in a written law.
She contended that executive directives, security circulars or administrative regulations cannot replace the constitutional requirement for a clearly defined offence created by legislation.
Sodiq is consequently asking the court to declare that her arrest and detention violated her constitutional rights to dignity and personal liberty.
She is also seeking a declaration that the respondents’ reliance on the so-called “NSA Extant Regulations” to arrest and detain her was unconstitutional because the directives were not shown to constitute a written criminal law enacted by the National Assembly.
The journalist further wants the court to declare that the continued retention of her mobile phones and drone violates her rights to privacy, ownership of property, freedom of expression and press freedom.
She asked the court to hold that the conduct of the respondents was unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void.
Among the substantive reliefs sought is an order compelling the respondents to immediately and unconditionally release all the phones, the drone and any other property taken from her.
She is also seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the Attorney-General, the SSS Director-General, the agency and its operatives from further arresting, detaining, intimidating, harassing or otherwise violating her constitutional rights in connection with the incident.
Sodiq is demanding ₦2 billion as general damages for the alleged unlawful arrest, detention and interference with her constitutionally protected rights.
She is seeking an additional ₦2 billion as exemplary and aggravated damages, bringing the total monetary claim to ₦4 billion.
The applicant also asked the court to make any further orders it considers appropriate in the circumstances.
Her counsel, Peter Femi Joseph, said the case raises substantial constitutional questions concerning the limits of executive and security powers, digital privacy, media freedom and the protection of journalists.
Joseph said the court would be required to determine whether a security agency could arrest and detain a citizen based on an executive directive that had not been enacted as criminal legislation.
He added that the case would also test whether investigative agencies could retain journalists’ phones and professional equipment indefinitely without securing judicial authorisation or commencing criminal proceedings.
According to the lawyer, permitting security agencies to create offences through administrative instructions would undermine the constitutional principle that criminal liability must be founded on clearly written law.
He maintained that the suit seeks to reinforce constitutional protections for journalists and ensure that reporters can discharge their professional responsibilities without arbitrary interference by state institutions.
The SSS had earlier maintained that Sodiq was intercepted while travelling with a drone without the required End User Certificate and that its action was based on security regulations governing the acquisition and use of unmanned aerial vehicles.
The agency said such regulations were necessary because of national and international security concerns associated with drones, including risks involving privacy and public safety.
Sodiq’s suit, however, distinguishes between possessing or transporting a drone and operating it, insisting that the security agency has not identified any written law making the mere carriage of the equipment a criminal offence.
The respondents had not been reported to have filed their court processes in response to the suit at the time of the latest account.
The allegations and constitutional questions raised by Sodiq remain subject to determination by the Federal High Court.
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