NEWS
NIGERIA - Newspaper publisher held for past 10 days in breach of
constitutional rights
Source: RSF



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October 20, 2005
Reporters Without Borders today condemned the unconstitutional way the
authorities arrested Weekly Star publisher Owei Kobina Sikpi on 11 October
in the south-eastern oil town of Port Harcourt and have held him ever
since on a charge of publishing false information.

"Protesting against a journalist's illegal detention could be quite
pointless in Nigeria under President Olusegun Obasanjo, given how much
everyone seems to accept the impunity enjoyed by the security forces, but
you do not need to be a lawyer to see that Sikpi's arrest and imprisonment
for the past ten days violates at least two articles of the constitution,"
the press freedom organisation said.

"What is more, although it currently holds the presidency of the African
Union, Nigeria has not been criticised or sanctioned by any other country
for its repeated attacks on the independent press," Reporters Without
Borders added.

A commando of gunmen raided the printing press of the privately-owned
Weekly Star as the latest issue was being printed on 11 October. They
arrested Sikpi and four employees and took away copies of the newspaper.

As far as Reporters Without Borders has been able to establish, it seems
the commando consisted of police officers and members of the State
Security Service (SSS), a federal intelligence agency. Rivers state police
spokesman Ireju Barasua nonetheless denied that members of his force were
involved. A similar denial came from the local SSS office.

Weekly Star editor Obinna Ahiaidu said it took him several days to locate
his boss. After being held secretly for six days, Sikpi was finally
brought before the Port Harcourt high court on 17 October and charged on
seven counts of false information in reports about money-laundering by
Rivers state governor Peter Odili, clashes between troops and separatist
militia in the River Niger delta, and former Liberian President Charles
Taylor's presence in Nigeria.

Sikpi pleaded not guilty but the judge refused to free him on bail and
ordered him kept in custody until another hearing scheduled for 26
October.

Section 36 of the Nigerian constitution says that a person is "entitled to
a fair hearing in public within a reasonable time" and must "be presumed
to be innocent until he is proved guilty." Section 39 guarantees freedom
of expression, "including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and
impart ideas and information without interference."



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