(MRA/IFEX) – On 8 September 2004, security agents from the Lagos State headquarters of the State Security Service (SSS) raided the office of the “Global Star”, a weekly newspaper based in Lagos, and arrested the wife of its editorial consultant, Isaac Umunna. Umunna, who is also the general editor of the London-based magazine “Africa Today”, […]
(MRA/IFEX) – On 8 September 2004, security agents from the Lagos State headquarters of the State Security Service (SSS) raided the office of the “Global Star”, a weekly newspaper based in Lagos, and arrested the wife of its editorial consultant, Isaac Umunna. Umunna, who is also the general editor of the London-based magazine “Africa Today”, was away from the office at the time of the raid, but his wife, Hope Umunna, was present.
The heavily armed security men stormed the newspaper’s Ikeja, Lagos office at about noon (local time), claiming they had instructions to search the office. After the search, the officers announced that everyone in the office would be taken to their headquarters in Shangisha, on the outskirts of Lagos, and detained until Isaac Umunna reported to Shangisha. The Umunna family share premises with the “Globar Star”, and Hope Umunna, a fashion designer, and her two children, an 11-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl, were in the office at the time.
Upon being informed by telephone of the unfolding events, Isaac Umunna called his wife’s mobile phone and requested to speak with the SSS operatives. The officers refused to speak with him and insisted that he present himself at their Shangisha office. They took his wife with them, leaving her children behind unattended. They also arrested some of the newspaper’s administrative staff and seized a desktop computer, a laptop, copies of the newspaper and other documents.
The SSS agents later raided the offices of Harefe Press, printers of the “Global Star”, and arrested some of the press’s principal officers. The printers were taken to Shangisha and released a few hours later after making written statements.
Hope Umunna and the “Global Star”‘s administrative staff arrested along with her were detained at Shangisha for about four hours. They were released on the evening of 8 September, after Isaac Umunna’s lawyers went to Shangisha to intervene. Hope Umunna was instructed to tell her husband to report to the SSS office by 9 September.
