On the evening of March 18, 2026, journalist Abdullahi Abdikadir Nur, popularly known as Abdullaahi Wadani, was detained by police in the central Somali city of Dhusamareeb, he told CPJ after his release. CPJ also spoke to local journalist Abdullahi Abdi Hersi, also known as Abdullahi Qorshe, who reported on the incident.
Abdullahi, who publishes news on his Facebook page, told CPJ that several armed Galmudug police officers approached him while he was walking in the city. The officers forced him into a police vehicle and took him to Dhusamareeb Central Police Station. Galmudug is one of Somalia’s six federal states.
“At the station, an officer questioned me about a Facebook post I had published earlier that day. In the post, I stated that, according to information I had received, Galmudug State Police Commissioner Khalif Abdulle Malin, also known as Ilkacase, and a close ally of the Galmudug leader, was expected to be replaced soon,” Abdullahi told CPJ.
The officer demanded that Abdullahi reveal his sources, but the journalist refused.
On March 22, Abdullahi was released, after four nights’ detention, following a promise by his family that he would refrain from publishing critical reports.
Abdullahi was previously detained in Dhusamareeb on December 18, 2025, after publishing a report that Faysal Ahmed Gurey, a member of the state parliament, had criticized Dhusamareeb administration leaders for “refusing” to install streetlights to help curb crime. Abdullahi was released on December 20, without charge, through a guarantor process, by which he signed a document stating that he would refrain from critically reporting on the Galmudug administration.
CPJ did not receive responses to its September 2026 emailed requests for comment sent to the president’s office, police chief, and ministry of interior.