The publisher of an online news agency, Mr. Jonathan Elendu, was arrested for sponsoring a guerilla news agency.The regime of President yar Adua of Nigeria is becoming noted for oppressing the press
It was gathered that the United States-based online publisher, who was arrested on Saturday, on arrival in Nigeria, was allegedly linked to Saharareporters, an online Nigerian news agency.
Our source revealed that Saharareporters, which is known for alleged subversive reports against the federal government and important personalities in the country, was allegedly the brain child of Elendu. It was further learnt that when Elendu was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as soon as he arrived via a KLM Airline around 7.30 p.m. on Saturday, he was immediately whisked away to the SSS headquarters, Asokoro, Abuja.
Said our sources: “The hefty publisher was accosted on arrival by two SSS operatives who told him that he was being invited for a chat with their boss, he responded that since it was an invitation, they shoulg give him time to go home and freshen up.
“The security operatives turned down his request, seized his international passport and whisked him away, only for him to remain incommunicado since then.” Elendu’s family members expressed concern and worry over the state of his health, as nobody has been able to communicate with him since Saturday. As at the time of filing in this report, his lawyers were preparing papers to fight for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights.
Elendureports.com operates from Lansing in Michigan and publishes often controversial stories about Nigerian politicians, accusing some of them of corruption and other crimes. Their stories are often based on anonymous sources
The State Security Service (SSS) has refused to allow his lawyers access to him and denied him a medical visit. Elendureports.com is one of a number of diaspora-run “citizen reporting” websites about Nigeria and is known for publishing controversial stories.
According to Nigerian law anyone arrested must be charged in court within 48 hours, but correspondents say the rule is frequently broken.
The SSS told Mr Elendu’s lawyer that Mr Elendu had not been “arrested”, but “invited” for talks at their headquarters.
An SSS spokesman said he was being investigated for “acts of sedition”, but refused to give details.
Spokesman Kene Chukwu also said hat Mr Elendu’s detention had followed legal rules.
“I am telling you all the legal rules were followed, and you have to accept it,” Mr Chukwu said.
Mr Elendu’s lawyer says he has not spoken to his client since his arrest.
“They have not pressed any charges and have not allowed anyone to see him,” said Ugo Muoma.
He said he was filing papers in court to force the SSS to charge or release Mr Elendu.
another US-based Nigerian news website, Saharareporters.com, quotes anonymous sources as saying Mr Elendu may have been arrested because of photographs it published a few months ago showing President Umaru Yar’Adua’s son.
The Saharareporters.com pictures, which caused a stir in the local media at the time, showed 13-year-old Musa Yar’Adua waving wads of money around and holding a policeman’s gun.
But Saharareporters.com says Mr Elendu is not a member of their staff and has nothing to do with the photographs.
International media rights groups Reporters Without Borders has called for Mr Elendu’s release.
“There haven’t been many really controversial stories about the president on Elendureports.com in the last few months,” said Mr Muoma.
During the election campaign in 2007, Elendureports.com claimed that Mr Yar’Adua had died during a medical trip to Germany.
Two foreign journalists have been detained and deported by the SSS for reporting in the politically sensitive oil-rich Niger Delta region over the last few months.
In September, six local reporters and media executives were detained and questioned after a television channel reported, after receiving a hoax e-mail, that the president planned to resign.
The cowardly act of harassing and arresting citizens for exercising their fundamental freedoms is totally condemnable and we hope that Nigerians at home and abroad will condemn the violation of the rights of Mr. Jonathan Elendu by the Yar’Adua regime. We also encourage Nigerians, whether they are journalists or not, to defend the sanctity of facts and of our law. If we refuse to do this, we grant full license to those who wield power to arrest anyone and everyone.
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”
kenneth uwadi