The Department of State Services (DSS) has reportedly detained journalist Zainab Sodiq after she travelled to Abuja to retrieve a drone allegedly seized by the agency while she was covering human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.

According to SaharaReporters, the drone was confiscated during Sodiq’s coverage of Sowore at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.

The report stated that Sodiq was later contacted by a DSS officer identified only as Musa, who allegedly instructed her to travel to Abuja to collect the equipment.

However, after arriving in the Federal Capital Territory, Sodiq reportedly became unreachable, raising concerns among colleagues and associates.

Her last known location was said to be around Yakubu Gowon Crescent in Abuja before all communication with her ceased.

Concerned associates reportedly reached out repeatedly to the DSS officer who had allegedly invited her to Abuja.

According to the report, the officer initially assured callers that the journalist would “soon be done” and released. However, he later stopped responding to calls and allegedly blocked some of the phone numbers used to contact him.

As of the time of filing this report, the DSS had not issued any official statement explaining the circumstances surrounding Sodiq’s reported detention or indicating whether she was being investigated for any alleged offence.

The reported incident has generated fresh concerns over press freedom and the safety of journalists covering politically sensitive events in Nigeria.

The development also comes amid ongoing legal proceedings involving Sowore, who is currently being prosecuted by the DSS over social media posts in which he described President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal.”

Neither the DSS nor other relevant authorities had publicly commented on the journalist’s whereabouts or the status of the seized drone at the time of this report.