The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed the release of Nigerian online journalist Timothy Elombah, who had been held since Jan. 1 apparently in relation to defamation and anti-terror charges.
Elombah, the editor-in-chief of the online news site elombah.com, was granted bail on Tuesday, Jan. 23 by the Abuja High Court and ordered released within 24 hours. Police, however, failed to free him until Thursday.
Timothy Elombah was arrested on Jan. 1 together with five other family members, including his brother Daniel Elombah, a London-based lawyer and the former publisher of elombah.com. According to a first-person statement published by Daniel Elombah, members of Nigeria’s Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and Special Tactical Squad (STS) raided the Elombahs’ home in Nnewi, Anambra state, confiscated journalistic equipment, and arrested the two brothers along with four other male family members. The statement said security forces did not give any reason for the arrests.
In a recent telephone interview with IPI, Daniel Elombah described the raid as a traumatising experience for his family and criticised the Nigerian authorities for deploying heavily armed tactical forces in an operation to arrest a journalist.
“I find it odd that in this modern age, tactical forces armed to the teeth invade our family house at early morning hours, arresting all family members they can find,” Elombah commented.
After a short interrogation by local security forces, the two brothers and a third family member were taken to Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, where officials at security headquarters questioned them at length. Daniel Elombah and the third family member were granted bail, while Timothy Elombah remained in detention.
Daniel Elombah called his brother’s extended detention “illegal”, stating that a court had granted police a remand order covering only seven days. Timothy Elombah was not released until more than three weeks later.
The nature and justification of the charges against the Elombah brothers are unclear. Daniel Elombah told IPI that authorities originally accused Timothy Elombah of defamation in connection with an article on Nigeria’s inspector-general of police, Ibrahim Idris. However, the Elombah brothers have said that the specific article in question, which appeared on a number of Nigerian web sites, was not published on elombah.com and was not writted by either of them.
According to Daniel Elombah, authorities later charged both brothers with cybercrime and cyberstalking, though it is not clear in what context. Additionally, Daniel Elombah told IPI that authorities have also charged Timothy Elombah with terror-related offences, apparently based on an unpublished article police found on his laptop called “Roadmap to Biafra”, a reference to a secessionist former region in southeastern Nigeria.
Daniel Elombah told IPI he was not familiar with the article’s content, but suggested the terrorism accusations amounted to an excuse to keep his brother in detention.
“That is ridiculously grasping for straws to justify the arrest,” he said.
IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen urged Nigerian authorities to clarify the charges against the Elombah brothers.
“We welcome the release of Timothy Elombah on bail and urge authorities to clarify the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the Elombah brothers and any charges against them,” he said. “Police should either provide evidence to support any such charges or cease what would otherwise amount to state harassment.”
Timothy Elombah has reportedly filed a lawsuit against the Inspector-General of Police for alleged violation of his fundamental rights. Additionally, Nigeria’s House of Representatives is said to have initiated an investigation into the lawfulness of the arrest and detention of the Elombah brothers.
IPI will host its annual World Congress in Abuja, Nigeria in June 2018.
