(MRA/IFEX) – On 9 January 2007, about 10 officials of the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria’s intelligence agency, raided the Abuja offices of the “Leadership” newspaper and held staff members of the company hostage for one hour. They later arrested the editor of the newspaper, Bashir Bello Akko; the general manager, Abraham Nda-Isaiah; and the […]
(MRA/IFEX) – On 9 January 2007, about 10 officials of the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria’s intelligence agency, raided the Abuja offices of the “Leadership” newspaper and held staff members of the company hostage for one hour. They later arrested the editor of the newspaper, Bashir Bello Akko; the general manager, Abraham Nda-Isaiah; and the Minna correspondent, Abdulazeez Sanni.
The SSS agents, reportedly led by Mr. Kingsley Paul, said they were acting on orders to obtain the manuscript of a front page story published by the “Leadership” in its weekend issue of 6 January, entitled “How Odili Lost Out In PDP.”
The SSS is reported to have issued an invitation on 8 January to the author of the story, Danladi Ndayebo, asking that he report to the SSS office in Abuja, but he was said to have been unable to honour the invitation as he was on official assignment outside Abuja.
The SSS agents returned on the morning of 9 January and demanded that Nda-Isaiah go with them to their office. Nda-Isaiah was accompanied to the SSS office by Akko and Sanni.
The SSS agents again returned to the newspaper’s offices at about 2:00 pm (local time) with only Nda-Isaiah accompanying them, as Akko and Sanni had been detained at the SSS office. The security agents proceeded to cordon off the premises, allowing no one to enter or leave. They then ransacked the office of the general manager.
While this operation was underway, the SSS agents seized the mobile phones of all staff, apparently to prevent them from calling anyone about what was taking place.
The security agents ransacked one office after the other until they ran into the executive editor, Aniebo Nwamu, and told him that they had instructions to collect the manuscript of the story. Nwamu asked his staff to search the archives for the manuscript and handed it over Mr. Paul, along with a computer print-out of the story.
Satisfied that their mission to collect the manuscript had been accomplished, the SSS agents left the newspaper office but took Nda-Isaiah with them.
Nwamu told MRA by telephone on 10 January that Akko, Nda-Isaiah, and Sanni were released on bail at midnight on 9 January but were ordered to produce Ndayebo, the writer of the “offending story”, which they promised to do.
