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News :: Civil & Human Rights |
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Independent Press Perils in Nigeria |
Current rating: 0 |
by hrw via Scott Edwards
Email: scottisimo (nospam) hotmail.com (verified) |
13 Sep 2004
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Nigeria: Intelligence Services Raid Independent Magazine, Arrest Two Staff Members |
Armed members of the Nigerian intelligence services, the State Security Service (SSS), broke into the offices of Insider Weekly magazine with sledgehammers and arrested two of its staff last weekend, in flagrant violation of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch has written to Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo asking him to launch an immediate investigation into the actions of the SSS and to release the two men unconditionally, unless they are charged with a recognizable criminal offence and tried according to due process.
“The Nigerian government claims to respect human rights and uphold freedom of the press. At the same time, journalists are arrested and intimidated for publishing stories critical of the government. This latest attack exposes the absurdity of the government’s claims,” said Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division.
On Saturday September 4, around fifteen members of the SSS carrying firearms raided Insider Weekly magazine’s offices in Lagos and seized copies of documents, equipment, and cash. They arrested the magazine’s production manager, Raphael Olatoye. They seized all copies of the magazine from the printing press and ordered for no further copies to be printed. They returned to the magazine’s offices the following day, arrested Cyril Mbamanu, a staff member in the marketing department, and seized computers and copies of the magazine. The two men’s whereabouts are still not known. A despatch rider who went to the magazine’s offices on September 6, unaware of the events of the previous two days, was also reported to have been arrested.
The SSS reportedly said they were acting on the orders of the President. They have since issued a statement justifying their actions on the basis that Insider Weekly magazine had consistently been “attacking, disparaging and humiliating” the President and other government officials. The statement describes the magazine’s attempts to “continually distort facts and misrepresent noble ideas of the present administration to the innocent public [as] not only libelous, seditious and subversive but also treasonable.” It mentions an article in the current edition of the magazine which criticized the government in the context of a draft law to reform the Trade Union Act.
“Journalists should be allowed to carry out their legitimate work without fear of intimidation or harassment,” said Peter Takirambudde. “The use of force, arbitrary arrest, and criminal prosecution are never justifiable methods of responding to public criticism.”
There are fears for the safety of other staff of Insider Weekly after the SSS asked for their home addresses when they raided the office. Many have gone into hiding.
Insider Weekly is one of a number of Nigerian magazines and newspapers which have been critical of government policies. In November 2003, three of its editors, including editor-in-chief Osa Director, were detained by the police for two days and charged with sedition and defamation of character in connection with an article alleging corruption by senior government officials. However, the latest incident was characterized by an even more brutal approach.
Numerous other journalists, activists, and government critics have been targeted by the government and the security forces for voicing criticism of government policies. In December 2003, Human Rights Watch published a report “Nigeria: Renewed Crackdown on Freedom of Expression” describing many such cases.
When Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth met President Obasanjo and other government officials in Nigeria earlier this year, they repeatedly stated that freedom of expression and freedom of the press were guaranteed in Nigeria. |
Copyright by the author. All rights reserved. |