Friday, October 31, 2008

More Troubling News from Nigeria and a Free Press

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Phone: (212) 465-1004 Fax: (212) 465-9568 Web: www.cpj.org
NIGERIA: Second U.S.-based Nigerian blogger held

New York, October 31, 2008—Nigeria’s national security agency today confirmed it is holding a U.S.-based Nigerian blogger in the capital, Abuja. This is the second online journalist held for questioning in the past two weeks.

Local journalists told CPJ that the detentions are part of a government crackdown on foreign-based Nigerian political Web sites ever since controversial photos of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s son were published on a popular news blog.


Emmanuel Emeka Asiwe, editor of the Arlington, Mass.-based HuhuOnline, was being “questioned over matters of national security,” according to State Security Service (SSS) spokesman Kenechukwu Onyeogu. The SSS took the blogger into custody today after he arrived from the U.S., he said. But defense lawyer Babalola Akinwumi told CPJ Asiwe was arrested on Tuesday at Lagos’ airport. Asiwe has been held incommunicado and without charge in Abuja ever since, the lawyer said. Nigerian law allows authorities to hold people for up to 48 hours without charge.

“We are concerned that Nigerian authorities are detaining journalists in an attempt to intimidate foreign-based online journalists from reporting on Nigeria,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. “We call on President Yar’Adua to ensure that the SSS respects due process and stop these actions that undermine Nigeria’s democratic gains and harken back to the era of military rule.”

Jonathan Elendu of the Lansing, Michigan-based ElenduReports was detained for 10 days and was provisionally released without charge on Wednesday. ElenduReports published often controversial reports on corruption among Nigerian politicians. New York-based SaharaReporters recently published exclusive photos of Yar’Adua’s teenage son, Musa, posing with an AK-47 assault rifle and holding cash.

Speaking to CPJ shortly after his release, Elendu said security agents questioned him for five days over his alleged links to SaharaReporters, his sources of information and funding as well as his opinions of the president. Agents also quizzed him about stories discussing Yar’Adua’s health.

Elendu’s travel documents remain confiscated, defense lawyer Ugo Muoma told CPJ. Speaking to CPJ on October 22, SSS spokesman Onyeogu said the journalist had been “invited for questioning on matters of national security” in relations to several of his stories.

In recent months, coverage of sensitive topics, including unrest in the oil-rich southern Niger Delta and Yar’Adua’s health and family, have often resulted in arrests and raids by the SSS, which reports directly to the Nigerian presidency, according to CPJ research. At least seven journalists, including Asiwa and Elendu, have been detained in SSS custody this year alone without charge for days or weeks, according to CPJ research.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.

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Friday, October 24, 2008

"Genius Grant" for Adichie

A second contributor to Curse of the Black Gold, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, was recently recognized with another award! Adichie, a Nigerian-born novelist who previously won an Orange prize, was selected to receive a prestigious MacArthur Foundation fellowship annually for the next five years. Popularly known as "genius grants", these fellowships are granted based on "exceptional merit and promise of continued creative work". Read the details in an interview with Guardian.

Our sincerest congratulations to Ms. Adichie on this well-deserved honor!

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The Drama, the Tension, As Kaine Agary Wins NLNG Literary Prize

We are excited to announce that one of the Nigerian contributors to Curse of the Black Gold, Kaine Agary, has won a prestigious literary award. Check out the link below for details. Bravo Kaine!

The Vanguard

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Thursday, October 9, 2008

Kolkata's daily Life: Visual Storytelling in the City of Joy

I am excited to announce I will be teaching a workshop in conjunction with the Tuscany Photographic Workshops, and Carlo Roberti. Please check out the link below for all the info and hope to see you in Kolkata in March of 2009! Please contact me directly if you have any questions.

Kolkata Daily Life Workshop

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