Weeks After Hosting Global Press Event, Nigeria Cracks Down

Seven weeks ago, Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed told the world gathering of the International Press Institute (IPI):  "We are proud that the Nigerian media is one of the most vibrant in the world. ...This administration will continue to provide the enabling environment for the journalist to function unmolested."  

At the IPI Congress in 2016 in Doha, Qatar, the minister presented Nigeria and its media as partners and made the bid for Nigeria to stage this year's event. Now, the Nigerian government is under fire for arresting and holding without legal counsel Premium Times reporter Samuel Ogundipe for refusal to disclose his sources, as well as for continuing to hold Jones Abiri of the Weekly Source in oil-rich Delta state for two years on terrorism charges.