Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has demanded release of a journalist, Lanre Arogundade, allegedly detained by the Department of State Services.
Lanre Arogundade said in a social media update on Thursday afternoon that he was detained by the secret police as he arrived in Lagos from Banjul, where he had gone to train some reporters on conflict coverage.
“I am being held or detained against my wish. I have just returned from Banjul where I went to train Gambian journalists on Conflict sensitive journalism,” Mr Arogundade said on Facebook at about 4:00 p.m. He recalled further that he had faced similar attacks from SSS agents in decades past.
Mr Arogundade, who has led the Lagos-based media rights think-tank IPC for several years, did not immediately express knowledge of why he was being held against his wish.
The SSS, which erstwhile military dictators established as a national security outfit for regime protection, has long been known to ambush journalists, political activists and dissidents across the nation’s airports.
A spokesman for the secret police did not immediately return a request for comment. But campaign for Mr Arogundade’s release has started gaining steam as words spread of the development.
Tufts University rights professor Chidi Odinkalu has condemned the SSS’ action on his social media handles and demanded Mr Arogundade’s immediate release.
Arogundade, who left Nigeria on January 30 for Banjul, The Gambia, for a training on Conflict Reporting for Journalists organised by the UNESCO and the International Press Institute, was allegedly arrested at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos.
Falana said no reason had been adduced for the arrest and detention, and his name was not on a watch list.
“We’ve equally confirmed that he did not commit any offence in The Gambia to warrant his arrest and detention by security agencies in Nigeria.
“Mr. Arogundade conducted himself as a law abiding citizen of Nigeria throughout his stay in The Gambia.
“Even though the State Security Service said that Mr. Arogundade has no right to enter Nigeria he has not been sent back to The Gambia or any other country that might have been adopted for him.
“Since the harassment of Mr. Arogundade cannot be justified, we’re compelled to demand for his immediate and unconditional release from the illegal custody of the State Security Service.”
Mr Arogundade has updated his Facebook wall with messages that he has been released
