Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
The International Press Centre (IPC), has condemned the harassment of former Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Lagos State Council, Mr Lanre Arogundade, by the officials of the State Security Service known as the DSS.
Arogundade, who is the Executive Director of IPC had prepared to board a late-night Air France Flight to Berlin, Germany on Thursday to participate in the respective general meetings and conferences of the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) and the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) when he was harassed at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport by men of the DSS.
Recounting his encounter with the DSS in a Facebook post, Arogundade said: “I was harassed by DSS officials for about 40 minutes because they claimed my name was still flashing on their watchlist despite the declaration two years ago by the Director General of the State Security Service, Mr. Yusuf Magaji Bichi, that my name had been removed when he met a delegation of the Nigerian chapter of the International Press Institute (IPI) led by Musikilu Mojeed.”
Arogundade, a renowned journalist, advocate for social justice and former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, informed IPC management that the senior DSS official to whom he was referred threatened to bar him from traveling unless he produced his old passports describing the request as “bizarre and ridiculous.”
A statement signed by the IPC Press Freedom Officer, Melody Akinjiyan, condemned the treatment of their Executive Director, noting that the positions he has held in the time past should not have warranted his unending torment by the DSS.
It held that the persistent harassment violates Mr. Arogundade’s right to freedom of movement while undermining basic democratic principles.
It however called on the Director General of the DSS to direct his men and officers at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport to desist from further harassing Mr Arogundade.
