A Columnist Okey Ndibe has again been picked up by the Nigerian secret police SSS at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
He was alleged taken to the office of the agency for questioning.
Okey speaks on his encounter with the SSS
“I had another irritating encounter with the SSS at Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos”
I told the officers who took me to their office for questioning that it’s shameful they salute and escort corrupt officials but harass a citizen who insists we can, and should, have a sane system based on true democratic values, the equality of ALL citizens before the law, and political accountability.
For the record, the SSS officials were courteous throughout.
Once again, they advised me to go to Abuja and apply to have my name expunged from their watchlist.
No, I said. I did not go to Abuja in 2010 to ask the Umaru Yar’Adua administration to put me on a list of enemies of the state.
I will not go to Abuja to plead that my name be removed from the list.
I thank all of you who’ve written or called to inquire after my wellbeing. I’m in wonderful spirits, far from cowed. Fear is a choice;
I’ve chosen not to fear.
Recall the columnist with The Sun Publishing Limited,was in 2011 arrested by the Nigerian security operatives as he arrived the country from his United States base.
No reason was given for his arrest but the operatives immediately seized his travelling documents, including his American passport.
He was then, arrested at about 8:45p.m and later released at about 11:45p.m.
Speaking on the arrest, Ndibe asserted that he came to Nigeria for a family commitment. His flight, according to him, arrived the Murtala International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos at 8:45p.m. As soon as he alighted from the aircraft, some security operatives accosted him and said he needed to speak with the SSS.
He was thereafter led to the first floor office of the SSS.
His words: ‘One of the SSS officials took my passport and asked me to take my luggage. On getting to the office, he made entries into a computer from my passport and asked if I had other passports. I said yes that I was also an American citizen. He took the passport as well. He also made numerous phone calls.’
Ndibe revealed that the question: ‘Are you a journalist?’ was thrown at him and he answered: ‘I teach but I also do a weekly column with `Daily Sun which is also online.’
The columnist maintained that the SSS official later made more phone calls before he was released at 11:45p.m
Ndibe is a Professor of English Language and teaches as a full time lecturer at the Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut.
He is also a part time lecturer at the Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where the Nigerian literary giant, Professor Chinua Achebe also lectured.
