The Department of State Services (DSS) has returned the passport of multiple-award-winning investigative journalist Adejuwon Soyinka, attributing his recent arrest to a “possible mistaken identity.”

The development follows Soyinka’s arrest on August 25 at Murtala Muhammed International Airport upon his return from London.

Soyinka, a two-time Emmy-nominated journalist and West Africa Regional Editor at The Conversation Africa, was detained for approximately eight hours, during which he was interrogated at both the DSS airport command and the agency’s Ikoyi office in Lagos.

Although he was released on self-recognition, his passport was withheld by the secret police.

Human rights activist and public interest lawyer Inibehe Effiong accompanied Soyinka to the DSS office in Ikoyi on Friday to retrieve the passport.

Reacting to the DSS’s explanation, Effiong remarked, “The secret police’s decision to blame the whole incident on possible mistaken identity did not come to me as a surprise.”

The DSS initially claimed that Soyinka’s name had been placed on its watchlist at the request of an unnamed government agency but later revised its explanation, citing mistaken identity as the cause of the arrest.

In response to the latest developments, Musikilu Mojeed, President of the Nigerian chapter of the International Press Institute (IPI Nigeria), expressed shock and dismay over the treatment of Soyinka.

“IPI Nigeria will consult with Mr. Soyinka to decide how to respond to this unbelievable demonstration of incompetence by operatives of a key intelligence agency,” Mojeed stated.

Mojeed emphasized the need for accountability, calling for the DSS to apologise to Soyinka for the “inconveniences and psychological anguish” caused by the incident.

He also urged the agency to commit to refraining from “reckless, undemocratic, and unprofessional behaviour” in the future.