(MRA/IFEX) – On 12 April 2006, Alfred Egbegi, publisher of the weekly newspaper “Izon Link”, was arrested by the police in Yenogoa, the Bayelsa State capital in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. Egbegi was apparently arrested over a story published in the Volume 7, Number 8 edition of the newspaper, carrying the headline “Ebebi cries […]
(MRA/IFEX) – On 12 April 2006, Alfred Egbegi, publisher of the weekly newspaper “Izon Link”, was arrested by the police in Yenogoa, the Bayelsa State capital in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria.
Egbegi was apparently arrested over a story published in the Volume 7, Number 8 edition of the newspaper, carrying the headline “Ebebi cries out: Jonathan is stabbing me”. The story alleged that there were political intrigues between the state governor and his deputy over who would govern the state after the 2007 general elections.
On 11 April, the publisher said that since the newspaper was distributed to newsstands the day before, he had been receiving anonymous phone calls threatening to “deal with him” for embarrassing the governor and his deputy.
Egbegi was arrested at about 12.45 p.m. (local time) by policemen from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), who tracked him down in an office in Emmanuel Otitio Road in Yenogoa. The policeman managed to locate Egbegi with the assistance of Egbegi’s printer, Olatubosun Isaac, who was arrested an hour earlier and forced to reveal the publisher’s whereabouts.
Issac was arrested at about 12:00 noon, along with Esther Bekeowei, a secretary in the newspaper’s office on Azikoro Road in Yenogoa. Isaac and Bekeowei were both taken to the state CID office where they were detained.
Egbegi was arrested by five police officers led by an assistant superintendent of police, Alex Akhigbe. He was driven away in a grey Peugeot 504 salon car with the license plate number NPF4667B.
While being arrested, the publisher, who had been on the run since 10 April, reportedly shouted that Mr. Charles Tambou, the press secretary to the deputy governor of the state, should be held responsible for his arrest.
He said: “He (Tambou) has been threatening to cripple my business. I stand by my story. Let him either refute it or go to court. They have planned to arrest more journalists.”
On 11 April, Tambou had denied any plan by the state government to arrest Egbegi, saying it was normal for people to express displeasure over negative newspaper publications but that such displeasure did not warrant harassing, arresting or intimidating journalists.
But the state police commissioner, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, claimed on 12 April that Egbegi was arrested “based on a petition from the state government”, adding that, after investigations, he might be charged in court.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Send appeals to authorities:
– calling for the immediate release of Alfred Egbegi and others detained in the hunt for him
– urging them to respect the rights of journalists to practice their profession freely
– stating that the intimidation and harassment of journalists violates the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Section 39 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as well as international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a signatory, and undermines the spirit of Nigeria’s democratic process
APPEALS TO:
Mr. Sunday Ehindero
Inspector General of Police
Force Headquarters
Loius Edet House
Shehu Shagari Way
Area 11, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria
Tel: +234 9 2340633 / 2340422
Fax: +234 9 2340422
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
