(WAN/IFEX) – WAN and the World Editors Forum have written to Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to express their serious concern at the security raid on the offices of the newspaper “ThisDay” and the issuing of a warrant for the arrest of its chief editor, Nduka Obaigbena. According to reports, on the evening of 4 April […]
(WAN/IFEX) – WAN and the World Editors Forum have written to Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to express their serious concern at the security raid on the offices of the newspaper “ThisDay” and the issuing of a warrant for the arrest of its chief editor, Nduka Obaigbena.
According to reports, on the evening of 4 April 2000, nine intelligence agents armed with submachine guns and pistols stormed the offices of “ThisDay” in Abuja. The officers said they were looking for “subversive and incriminating documents” during the five-hour raid, in which several employees were assaulted.
The officers claimed to have an arrest warrant for Obaigbena, who was not on the premises at the time. Obaigbena has recently received several threatening phone calls warning him to stop publishing stories implicating the president’s national security adviser, Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, in massive corruption under the late dictator General Sani Abacha. “ThisDay” has alleged that Gusau knew about and may have been involved in several corrupt deals, including a multi-billion dollar scandal involving a Russian-built steel plant.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– respectfully reminding him that the raid on the newspaper’s offices and the attempted arrest of Obaigbena is a clear attack on the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international conventions, including Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Nigeria is a signatory
– respectfully calling on him to ensure that any warrant that might have been issued for the arrest of Obaigbena is immediately rescinded and that a thorough investigation into the attack on the newspaper is launched
– urging him to do everything in his power to ensure that in future Nigeria fully respects its international obligations to freedom of expression
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:His Excellency President Olusegun Obasanjo
State House, Abuja
Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
Fax: +234 95 232 138
E-mail: president.obasanjo@nigeriagov.orgPlease copy appeals to WAN.
