A few days ago, precisely on April 11, the Executive Director of the International Press Centre (IPC), Mr. Lanre Arogundade, was accosted by officials of the State Security Service otherwise known as the DSS.
It all happened at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
A statement by the spokesperson for the IPC, Melody Akinjiyan, said that Mr. Arogundade was preparing to board a late-night Air France Flight to Berlin, Germany when the DSS showed up.
He was on his way 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).
According to the organisation, this “would be the umpteenth of such unwelcome development”.
Furthermore, the IPC strongly registered its displeasure over what it called another incident of harassment.
“Bizarre And Ridiculous”
The statement read: “Mr. Arogundade is a renowned journalist, advocate for social justice and democracy.
“He is a former Chairman of the Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists and former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students.
“We believe these roles and positions should not warrant his unending torment by the DSS”.
Meanwhile, Mr. Arogundade recounted the encounter in a Facebook post.
“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.”
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Additionally, Mr. Arogundade informed IPC management that he was referred to a senior DSS official who threatened to bar him from traveling unless he produced his old passports.
He described the request as “bizarre and ridiculous”.
The IPC holds that the persistent harassment violates Mr. Arogundade’s right to freedom of movement while undermining basic democratic principles.
Furthermore, the IPC called on the Director General of the DSS, and in particular his men and officers at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport to desist from further harassing Mr. Arogundade.
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