Nigeria: Two journalists arrested by police

IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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ACTION ALERT - NIGERIA

14 July 2004

Two journalists arrested by police

SOURCE: Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Accra

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 9 July 2004, police in Port Harcourt, Rivers State,
southern Nigeria, arrested and detained two news magazine reporters, Lawson
Heyford of "The Source" and Okafor Ofiebor of "The News".

The journalists were arrested for their alleged association with a man
identified as Pastor Joe Alatoru, who had accused two senior police officers
of taking bribes from him. Alatoru was also arrested by police.

According to MFWA-Nigeria, at about 1:00 p.m. (local time), police officers
from the Rivers State Security Agency's Special Operations Squad (SOS), led
by a man identified only as "Kenneth", arrested the three individuals as
they were leaving the offices of the Shell Petroleum Development Company.

Ofiebor told MFWA-Nigeria that the arrest followed the journalist's reports
on the allegation of bribery and coercion that Alatoru, in a petition
forwarded to the Inspector General of Police, is pressing against the two
police officers.

The police first took the three men to the office of an anti-crime unit
called "Operation Fire-for-Fire", and later took them to the police's Zonal
Headquarters.

One of the police officers told the journalists they were instructed to
arrest and detain Alatoru in Port Harcourt. A special team from the capital,
Abuja, would then come to transfer him to the Federal Capital Territory to
face trial for trying to frame the two police officers.

Police released Ofiebor after eight hours in detention, instructing him to
report back the following day. Heyford was released on 11 July. He told
MFWA-Nigeria that Alatoru's whereabouts were still unknown..

MFWA condemns this abuse of power by the Rivers State police authority and
the frequent abuses of media freedom that the state security forces employ
whenever a news report seems to indict them.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to authorities:
- protesting the journalists' arrest and detention
- condemning the police's abuse of power and the state security forces'
frequent abuses of media freedom

APPEALS TO:

Chief Chukwuemeka Chikelu
Hon. Minister for Information and National Orientation
Federal Ministry of Information
Radio House, Abuja
Tel: +234 9234 6350 / 6102

Chief Akinlolu Olujimi
Hon. Attorney General and Minister for Justice
Tel: +234 9523 5194
Fax: +234 9523 5208

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

For further information, contact Kwame Karikari or Jeannette Quarcoopome,
Media Foundation for West Africa, P.O. Box LG 730, Legon, Ghana, tel.: +233
21 24 24 70, fax: +231 21 22 10 84, e-mail: [email protected], Internet:
http://www.mfwaonline.org

The information contained in this action alert is the sole responsibility of
MFWA. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit
MFWA.
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