Prof Okey Ndibe
- US-based columnist questioned on arrival, told to go to Abuja to clear name. “I wage war on corruption,” he told DSS
Officials of the Department of State Services, DSS, on Sunday arrested and questioned US-based author and columnist Professor Okey Ndibe at Murtala Muhammed International Airport before releasing him hours later.
Ndibe, who has lived in the US since 1998, was held at the DSS office in Lagos and grilled over his presence on the agency’s watch-list.
—“Country that rolls out red carpet for criminals”—
According to reports, DSS operatives told the columnist his arrest was based on the watch-list and advised him to travel to Abuja to get his name removed to avoid future detention.
Ndibe declined.
“I told the SSS that it’s a shame a country that rolls out the red carpet for criminals would harass a writer who wages war on corruption and the corrupt,” he said.
—History of detentions—
This is not Ndibe’s first run-in with the secret police. In January 2011, DSS detained him for hours at the same airport and confiscated his American and Nigerian passports for two days.
His passport was seized again years later and only released after civil society groups mounted public pressure.
Ndibe, who has taught in several institutions abroad, is a long-time critic of government and corruption. The DSS gave no public reason for the latest detention as of press time.
● “A regular occurrence since Jonathan’s days” — Friend blasts DSS for detaining Ndibe again, says agency “doesn’t update database”
Ex-Anambra Commissioner and friend of Ndibe, Don Adinuba said: “It’s a pity DSS still treats Ndibe as security threat. They apologise every time after Abuja calls
He expressed shock at the latest arrest of the US-based columnist, noting Ndibe hasn’t written for Nigerian media in two years as he focuses on books and teaching at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
—“Pity the agency doesn’t update its database”—
“On each occasion he was arrested in the past, he would be released after the airport DSS officials got in touch with their superiors in Abuja,” Adinuba said.
“It is a pity that this agency doesn’t update its database to enable the officers on duty at the airport to know that the agency no longer regards Prof Ndibe as a security threat to the administration.
“The agency has on each occasion apologized to him for the wrongful detention.”
—Pattern since 2011—
Ndibe, who left Nigeria in 1998, has been detained multiple times at MMIA since 2011 over his critical columns. Each time, DSS released him after Abuja intervention and apologized, Adinuba confirmed.
The Nation
