Meta Takes Down FIJ’s Facebook Page

Meta Platforms Inc., the genitor institution of Facebook, has taken down the authoritative leafage of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), citing alleged violations of its cybersecurity standards.

On Sunday, FIJ received a pop-up notification informing the newsroom that its page, “FIJ Nigeria,” had been unpublished for going against assemblage standards connected cybersecurity.

FIJ instantly denied the allegation, stressing that Meta’s cybersecurity rules had nary bearing connected its operations.

The newsroom confirmed that it has filed an entreaty for the restoration of the account, with Meta expected to contented a determination by Thursday.

At the clip of filing this report, the Facebook leafage remained inaccessible.

The organisation described the suspension arsenic portion of a broader signifier of attempts to soundlessness its reporting.

FIJ recalled that connected August 21, its website was forced offline aft what it traced to coordinated cyberattacks launched from the office of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The Facebook takedown besides came astatine a clip erstwhile the newsroom faced increasing unit from Nigerian information agencies.

Earlier this week, the Nigeria Police Force intensified a crackdown connected FIJ unit members.

On Wednesday that the Ekiti State Police Command had summoned Fisayo Soyombo, FIJ’s laminitis and editor-in-chief, for interrogation implicit allegations of conspiracy, transgression defamation, cyberbullying, and blackmail.

According to FIJ, the invitation to Soyombo came hardly an hr earlier the merchandise of its elder reporter, Sodeeq Atanda, who had been detained and grilled by the constabulary for astir 11 hours connected Tuesday.

Atanda had antecedently been invited connected September 1 to reply questions bordering connected “malicious misrepresentation” and related allegations.

In a caller missive addressed to the newsroom, Assistant Commissioner of Police successful complaint of the State Intelligence Department (SID), Musa Hadi, directed Soyombo to look astatine the authorities office successful Ado-Ekiti connected September 15, stating that his sanction had travel up successful an ongoing investigation.

FIJ noted that the constabulary probe was tied to its bid of investigative reports exposing intersexual misconduct allegations against the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) Prof. Abayomi Fasina.

Fasina, who is presently connected leave, was accused of harassing Folasade Adebayo, a serving manager astatine the university.