By our reporter.
Nigeri
In a statement issued in Abuja, the Council’s Secretary, Comrade Jide Oyekunle, stated that Bassey, who is neither a member of the NUJ nor an accredited visitor to the Council, had been frequenting the Secretariat situated at Utako while presenting himself as the Supreme Leader of the Supreme Niger Delta Youth Council Worldwide (SNDYCW).
According to the statement, Bassey approached a staff member, Mr. Ifechukwude Irebonye, on Monday June 29, 2026 at about 4.00pm and sought assistance in recovering lost WhatsApp messages on his mobile phone, to which the messages were successfully restored instantly in his presence.
The statement alleged that the following day, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, Bassey reported Irebonye to the Utako Police Station, accusing him of fraudulently transferring more than ₦700,000 from his bank account while handling the phone.
The Council said Irebonye denied the allegation but was arrested and detained overnight before he was granted bail the next day, Wednesday, July 1, 2026 following the intervention of the FCT NUJ Abuja Council Chairman, Comrade Grace Ike.
It further claimed that the investigating police officer (IPO), an Assistant Superintendent of Police John, said preliminary findings showed the disputed transactions had been carried out earlier on the same day before Bassey visited the NUJ Secretariat for assistance with his phone.
The Council also informed that while Irebonye had submitted his bank statement to investigators as requested, that Bassey had yet to provide his own bank statement to support his allegation.
PeopleGAZET Newspaper reporter on fact finding approached Bassey who informed that he (Bassey) has written to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and copied the Abuja Council on the matter saying, “I am loosing over One Million Naira (N1, 000,000.00)”. “So what do you want me to do?” Bassey asked.
Reacting to the incident, NUJ FCT Council Chairman, Comrade Grace Ike, said the Council would pursue the matter to its logical conclusion and commence legal proceedings over what she described as trespass, defamation and unlawful detention of its staff member, subject to the outcome of police investigations.
She also announced that Bassey had been barred from entering the NUJ FCT Council Secretariat pending the resolution of the matter.
“Ekpe will be sued for defaming and detaining my staff,” Ike said.
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