17/04/2024 – The coalition for whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) hereby condemns in strong terms, the harassment of the Executive Director of the International Press Centre (IPC), Mr. Lanre Arogundade, by men of the State Security Service, also known as the Department of State Service (DSS).
According to a statement by the IPC, Mr Arogundade was accosted by the officers of the State Security Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) on Thursday, April 11, 2024.
According to the statement, Mr. Arogundade recounted the encounter in a Facebook post in which he noted that he was harassed by DSS officials for about 40 minutes because they claimed his 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 his name had been removed when he met a delegation of the Nigerian chapter of the International Press Institute (IPI) led by Musikilu Mojeed.
The statement further noted that Mr. Arogundade additionally informed IPC management that the senior DSS official to whom he was referred threatened to bar him from travelling unless he produced his old passports.
The CWPPF views this unwarranted harassment of Mr Lanre Arogundade by men of the DSS not only as a violation of his fundamental human right but also as an attack on the freedom of the press. Journalists and human rights advocates deserve a free environment to operate without fear of harassment and prejudice.
As a coalition, we believe that such acts of intimidation and harassment have no place in a democracy and stand strongly condemned.
We join the International Press Centre (IPC) to call on the Director General of the DSS, Mr. Yusuf Magaji Bichi to remove Mr Arogundade’s name from their watchlist. We also want him to direct DSS officials at all Nigerian International Airports to desist from further harassing Mr. Arogundade or limiting his right to free movement.
We stand in solidarity with Mr Arogundade and demand a thorough investigation into the incident to forestall a recurrence of such.
Signed
Busola Ajibola,
Deputy Director, CJID.
For:
CWPPF members
Premium Times
The Cable
Daily Trust Newspaper
International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR)
Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ)
Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)
African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)
Civic Media Lab
Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC)
International Press Centre (IPC)
International Press Institute (IPI)
Media Rights Agenda (MRA)
Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ)
Paradigm Initiative
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)
HEDA Resources Centre.
The CWPPF is a group of media and civil society organisations committed to upholding democracy and good governance by protecting the ethos of whistleblowing, freedom of expression and press freedom.
