Nigeria
Police arrest six journalists from independent newspaperPosted Oct 22 2011
President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan speaks in the U.N. General Assembly during high-level meetings on HIV/AIDS in June 2011. AP Photo by Bebeto Matthews
Links
Associated Press article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/police-raid-nigeria-newspaper-arrest-4- journalists-over-story-on-presidential-influencing/2011/10/12/gIQAjIRaeL_story.html
Committee to Protect Jouralists
http://www.cpj.org/2011/10/nigeria-police-arrest-six-journalists.php
The Nation
http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/22631-police-invade-then- nation-offices.html
Police in Nigeria arrested four journalists from the independent daily The Nation on Oct. 12. What triggered the arrests was the publication of a letter that was suspected to have been written by Nigeria’s former president to the country’s current leader, according to an Associated Press article.
The arrest was believed to connect with The Nation’s front page Oct. 4 story, a letter allegedly written by former leader Olusegun Obasanjo, who recommended current president Goodluck Jonathan to replace five CEOs of several government agencies, according to an article published by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Police also arrested two reporters and the newspaper's chief of security who ha accompanied the editors to the Central Police Station in Lagos, according to the CPJ article.
The detectives arrested four editors from the newspaper after law enforcement failed to find the publication’s senior leaders at the Lagos office, according to a statement from its general editor.
Obasanjo filed a complaint last week, accusing the newspaper of publishing the letter with a forgery of his signature, but the Nation said it stood by its story and the letter’s authenticity, according to CPJ.
Prior to the arrests, police had requested an editor from The Nation to reveal the source of the letter. The paper's lawyer told police the journalist was traveling abroad and would present himself upon his return, CPJ wrote.
This incident happened not long after the long-awaited Freedom of Information Act (FOI) in Nigeria was passed.