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Police Arrest And Detain Newspaper Publisher

Media Rights Agenda (Lagos)
PRESS RELEASE
May 5, 2005
Posted to the web May 5, 2005

On 2 May 2005, Omo-Ojo Orobosa, publisher of the "Midwest Herald" newspaper,
was arrested in Lagos on charges of sedition while the Lagos office of the
tabloid was sealed off. He was reportedly taken by police to Akure, the Ondo
State capital, about 300 kilometres away, where he is being detained.

According to Orobosa's lawyer, Festus Keyamo, the publisher was arrested by
detectives from the "D" Department of the Ondo State Police Command,
allegedly on the orders of Stella Obasanjo, Nigeria's first lady.

Orobosa reportedly arrived at his office to meet a team of police officers,
led by Police Inspector Sunday Owolabi, who were waiting for him. The
policemen, who had cordoned off the tabloid's office in Ikeja, Lagos,
introduced themselves as officers from "D" Department, Criminal
Investigation Department (CID), in Akure. They said they had received orders
from the first lady to arrest Orobosa over a publication in the previous
week's edition of the "Midwest Herald", titled "Greedy Stella".

Although they did not have an arrest warrant, the police officers took
Orobosa away on allegations of having committed the offence of "sedition"
and subsequently drove him to Akure.

Keyamo condemned the arrest, saying, "If the first lady feels defamed, her
recourse should be to the law courts for civil defamation, and not [to
resort] to the well known [late General Sani] Abacha tactics. We call for
the immediate release of Omo-Ojo, while we proceed to court to enforce his
fundamental rights."

Ayodeji Amusa, Obasanjo's spokesperson, said he was not aware of the arrest.
He claimed that the first lady would have informed him if the story of the
arrest had been true.

The Ondo State Police Command has, however, confirmed the arrest and
detention of Orobosa, saying that he is in their custody and being held for
sedition.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to authorities:

- reminding them that sedition is no longer a valid offence in Nigeria,
having been declared unconstitutional by the Court of Appeal in 1983 in the
case of Arthur Nwankwo V. Governor of Anambra State

- calling for Orobosa's release

APPEALS TO:

Sunday Ehindero
Inspector General of Police
Force Headquarters
Louis Edet House
Shehu Shagari Way
Area 11 Garki, Abuja
Nigeria
Tel: +234 9 234 0633 / 234 0422
Fax: +234 9 234 0422

Chief Akinlolu Olujimi, SAN
Hon. Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice
Federal Secretariat Complex Garki, Abuja Nigeria
Tel: +234 9 523 5194
Fax: +234 9 523 5208

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

MORE INFORMATION:

For further information, contact Ayode Longe, Media Rights Agenda, 10
Agboola Aina Street, off Amore Street, Ikeja, P.O. Box 52113, Ikoyi, Lagos,
Nigeria, tel: +234 1 493 6033, fax: +234 1 493 0831, e-mail:
[log in to unmask], Internet: http://www.mediarightsagenda.org

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