(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ sources in Lagos and Kaduna confirmed that as of early evening on 16 June 1998, Christine Anyanwu, publisher and editor-in-chief of the now-defunct “The Sunday Magazine”, remains in prison in Kaduna despite the 15 June announcement of her release on the orders of General Abdulsalam Abubakar. Anyanwu’s colleagues believe that the processing […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ sources in Lagos and Kaduna confirmed that as of early
evening on 16 June 1998, Christine Anyanwu, publisher and editor-in-chief of
the now-defunct “The Sunday Magazine”, remains in prison in Kaduna despite
the 15 June announcement of her release on the orders of General Abdulsalam
Abubakar. Anyanwu’s colleagues believe that the processing of the necessary
documentation for Anyanwu’s release from prison may be the reason for the
delay and expect her to be officially released on 17 or 18 June.
**Updates IFEX alerts dated 16 June 1998, 18 August and 23 June 1997; 27
October, 1 August, 22 May 1995; and others**
Background Information
In July 1995, a special military tribunal secretly tried Anyanwu and
sentenced her to life imprisonment for treason. On 1 October 1995, her life
sentence was commuted to fifteen years in prison by the Provisional Ruling
Council. Anyanwu was transferred to a prison in Bama, north-eastern Nigeria,
notorious for its poor conditions. At the end of 1997, she was being held at
Kadu Prison in Kaduna State and was in desperate need of medical attention
for her deteriorating eyesight. George Mbah of “Tell”, Ben Charles Obi of
“Weekend Classique” and Kunle Ajibade “TheNews”, who were arrested and
sentenced with Anyanwu in March and May 1995, remain imprisoned. There are
currently seventeen journalists imprisoned journalists in Nigeria (see IFEX
alerts).
