Obasanjo Told us to Arrest The Nation's Editors – Police

Interesting review of this flap on freedom of the press – from all sides

Elombah.com

14 October 2011

Obasanjo Told us to Arrest The Nation's Editors – Police

The Nigeria Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Abubakar Ringim have explained that they arrested editors and three other staffers of Nigeria's opposition newspaper, following a petition from former President  Olusegun Obasanjo. Obasanjo had complained over a 4 Oct. story carried by the paper, in which the former President was said to have written a 'secret' letter to President Goodluck Jonathan asking him to remove the heads of some key government agencies for alleged poor performance.

Obasanjo denied writing such a letter, accused the paper of forgery and threatened to sue it.

The Nation newspaper in turn reacted by publishing a copy of the letter - purportedly bearing Obasanjo's signature - on its front page.

The police said it arrested the journalists following a complaint by the Nigerian former head of state accusing the journalists of engaging in a criminal act.

Speaking on the arrest yesterday, the police boss insisted that the complainant in the matter, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has the constitutional right to lay complaint to the Nigeria Police if his rights were trampled upon.

Though all the four arrested editors and three other staffers of Nigeria's opposition newspaper, The Nation, have been freed, the House of Representatives has ordered a probe into the issue