BREAKING: SSS Arrests Media Activist, Arogundade, At Lagos Airport
Mr Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of the International Press Institute in Lagos and former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, has been arrested by State Security Service officers.
On Thursday, Arogundade was apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
He had traveled to The Gambia to participate in and lead a training program for journalists on conflict reporting, which was organized by the UNESCO (Gambia) and the International Press Institute.
As at the time of reporting this story, no reason for his arrest has been revealed.
His detention was revealed in a statement signed by Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, titled “Demand For Unconditional Release Of Lanre Arogundade From Illegal Custody Of State Security Service.”
“We have confirmed that his name is not on Watch List. Hence, he was not prevented from travelling out of Nigeria. We have equally confirmed that he did not commit any offence in The Gambia to warrant his arrest and detention by security agencies in Nigeria,” Falana said in the statement.
“In fact, Mr Arogundade conducted himself as a law-abiding citizen of Nigeria throughout his stay in The Gambia. Even though the State Security Service said that Mr Arogundade has no right to enter Nigeria, he has not been sent back to the Gambia or any other country that might have been adopted for him. Since the harassment of Mr Arogundade cannot be justified, we are compelled to demand his immediate and unconditional release from the illegal custody of the State Security Service.”
