Security Agents Raid TV Station and Arrest Journalist

[Richard Akindele]

On 14 June 2006, operatives of the State Security Service (sss), Nigeria's intelligence agency, invaded the premises of the country's largest private television network, the Africa Independent Television (ait), in Abuja and arrested Gbenga Mike Aruleba, jost of the popular "Focus On Nigeria" programme.

About 12 security agents carried out the raid and arrest at about 8:00 a.m. (local time). Aruleba was still being held at the close of the day, although AIT Corporate Affairs Manager Johnson Onime said the management of the station was making efforts to secure his release.

Aruleba is believed to have been arrested over an interview he granted a former senator, Joseph Waku, which was aired on the "Focus on Nigeria" programme on 13 June. Senator Waku harshly criticized the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo during the interview.

AIT's acting chairman Tom Adaba said that although the television station did not yet know the specific reason for the invasion and Aruleba's arrest, the security agents who came to its premises demanded the tape containing the edition of the programme aired on 13 June. However, he said the tape could not be given to the security agents as it was in Lagos, where all the recording of the programme is done.

Adaba said the station was making efforts to transfer the tape from Lagos to Abuja for onward transmission to the SSS in the hope that it would result in the release of Aruleba.

The "Focus on Nigeria" programme, which Aruleba anchors daily, was introduced by the station in January 2006. It runs from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. from Monday to Friday. Aruleba said during the maiden edition of the programme that it was intended "to put in focus all issues and processes leading to the 2007 General Election." It also encourages audience participation through telephone calls and short message texts sent via mobile telephones.

The latest raid on AIT is the second by SSS operatives in one month. On 14 May, SSS agents raided the same Abuja office of AIT and seized the master tape of a 30-minute documentary on failed attempts by various past Nigerian heads of state to prolong their tenure in office (for further information, see IFEX alert of 15 May 2006). Nigeria's National Assembly was then debating a controversial proposal to amend the 1999 Constitution in order, among other things, to extend the tenure of the President and state governors by a further four years. The proposal was later defeated.

Media Rights Agenda

[Richard Akindele]

Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, and the Advanced of Congress of Democrats yesterday decried the invasion of the Abuja office of African Independent Television (AIT) and the subsequent arrest of AIT presenter, Mr. Mike Aruleba, describing the situation as barbaric.

In a statement, Afenifere condemned the continued violation of the freedom of the press by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, insisting that such acts have continued to undermine this democratic practice.

The group, through its publicity secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, called for the immediate release of Aruleba and urged concerned citizens of Nigeria to rise up against Obasanjo's administration with a view to compelling it to respect the rule of law.

"Afenifere appeals to all democracy loving Nigerians to pile sufficient pressure on this administration to respect the rule of law as against that of the thumb which is its hallmark at the right of journalists to practise their profession without let or hindrance must be defended at all cost," the statement read.

Odumakin who also called for the release of all detainees including Otunba Gani Adams, Asari Dokubo, Ralph Uwazuruike, Mustapha Jokolo, Otunba Fasawe, among others added that "all these repressive acts and suppression of information freedom would not guarantee the administration a day longer than May 29, 2007 in office."

On its part, the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) described the invasion of AIT and the arrest as threat to the nation's democracy.

The chairman, Media and Publicity Commttee of ACD, Mr. Lai Mohammed in a statement said the arrest of Aruleba, who is the presenter of 'Focus Nigeria' on AIT, was an absolute affront on the constitution of the country.

He said: "the arrest of Gbenga Arulegba is nothing, but a subtle return to the era of intimidation and censorship which will stoutly be resisted by all Nigerians".

"A government which shows such zero intolerance for the freedom of speech and the rule of law is an embarrassment to all Nigerians. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) led government should learn from the history that no government anywhere in the world rely solely on the use of force.

"The use of coercion has been launched against the media and the civil society in the struggle for the enthronement of real democracy in Nigeria, and this government has been so involved in the threat against democracy," it said.

This Day

[Richard Akindele]

Security operatives yesterday re-arrested the African Independent Television (AIT) Gbenga Aruleba, the regular host of a popular programme, Focus Nigeria.

This is the second time Gbenga is being arrested this month and he is to be charged to court today in Abuja.

Ruffled AIT staff were seen milling round the premises of the station on Kpaduma Hill , Asokoro, discussing the arrest.

A source at the scene of the arrest told Daily Trust that the operatives came and promptly whisked away the reporter. He said "they came in the afternoon and took him away. I don't know why he was arrested again because it was not long when they took him away. Now they have picked him again".

The SSS last Sunday also arrested a reporter with the Daily Independent Newspaper, Rotimi Durojaiye, charging him for sedition.

Durojaiye, a Senior Aviation Correspondent was invited by the SSS in Lagos for a chat in connection with a report he did on President Obasanjo's jet. He was detained thereafter.

He is also billed to appear in court today.

The arrest of the two reporters is coming against the backdrop of the sack of the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Bukhari Bello, who recently raised alarm concerning the human rights records of the Obasanjo government.

While official cause of the arrest of the journalists has not been ascertained, Director- General of the SSS, Kayode Are recently told the press that security agents will not allow reports that will "endanger national security".

He urged the press to discharge their duties, mindful of the protection of the nation's overall interest.According to him the SSS was not targeting the media, but that it is carrying out its assigned obligation within the provision of the of human rights, noting that no one was above the law.

He pointed out that the SSS will ensure that the rights of detained persons are taken care of and promised speedy trials as stipulated in the constitution.

Gbenga was first arrested weeks ago in connection with a programme in which he hosted a former lawmaker who lambasted the Obasanjo regime for non performance.

He was released after a massive media campaign and rights groups who condemned the arrest.

Meanwhile, the International Press Centre, Lagos, has condemned the arrest of Durojaiye. The center which noted that this is the second time in two weeks that journalists will be detained over the presidential jet, said that the reporter's story kept with ethics of the profession.

Daily Trust

[Richard Akindele]

Olusegun Obasanjo, the Nigerian president appointed last week to Tony Blair's Africa Progress Panel, is facing criticism over the arrest of two journalists for writing about his new luxury presidential jet.

The two reporters were thrown in jail on charges of sedition after revealing that technical problems had forced Mr Obasanjo's £40 million Boeing aeroplane to make an emergency landing within weeks of going into service.

In tactics more in keeping with a military dictatorship than a supposed bastion of Western democracy, the pair were held for three days by the feared State Security Service (SSS) before being bailed for trial next month, where they will face two years' jail if found guilty. The controversy could be sensitive for Mr Blair, who has praised Mr Obasanjo as one of a "new generation" of African leaders committed to reform.

Only last week Mr Blair appointed the former general to his Africa panel, aimed at monitoring how well the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations is delivering on aid pledges to the world's poorest countries.

Despite the Nigerian government's efforts to silence them, local journalists have also revealed that the buying of the luxurious jet is the subject of an inquiry by Nigeria's anti-corruption watchdog, a sensitive matter, given Mr Obasanjo's pledge to tackle rampant graft.

It was reported that far from being brand new, as promised, the Business Jet 737-800, which is equipped with an office, a bed and a dining room, was at least five years old and that the government might have vastly overpaid for it.

While the British Government has maintained silence on the case of the two reporters, others have been forthright in their condemnation of the arrests. Reporters Without Frontiers, the press freedom group, accused Mr Obasanjo of using Nigeria's intelligence services as "political police". In Washington, the White House also expressed concern.

Many believe Nigerian journalists are being punished for their opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed the president to serve a third term, which proved deeply unpopular and was eventually defeated in the Senate. With presidential elections due to take place next year, the arrests are being widely seen as an attempt to intimidate the media.