H. E. General Sani Abacha
President and Commander-in-Chief
State House
Abuja
Nigeria
Vienna, 19 April 1995
Your Excellency,
The International Press Institute (IPI) protests most strongly at the campaign of harassment being waged against Nigerian author and newspaper publisher, Mr. Niyi Oniororo, by the country’s authorities.
We are informed that armed police raided the publisher’s home and offices for several days on end, in order to confiscate copies of his most recent book, “A Rotten Country.” We also understand that thousands of copies have been seized from shops all over the country and are deeply concerned to hear that vendors as well as readers of the book have been arrested and detained.
IPI, a global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in 85 countries, regards this incident as another attempt to silence any voice that is critical of your government and as part of an escalating campaign against freedom of expression in Nigeria. We therefore strongly urge you to immediately release the imprisoned sellers and readers of the book, to allow Mr. Oniororo to publish without further harassment and to refrain from any further restrictions on the freedom of expression in your country.
We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director