Nigerian journalist arrested and detained in Niger republic

According to reports, the Deputy Editor of Daily Trust, Danjuma Lawan Adamu, has been arrested & detained by security officers in Niger Republic.

He was arrested while he was on an assignment investigating the route used by Nigerian youth to migrate to European countries.

According to a statement from the media, Danjuma was arrested and is being detained over allegations of inappropriate travel documents.

Daily Trust executive director/editor-in-chief Malam Mannir Dan Ali in a statement quoted Danjuma as saying …

“I got necessary travel approvals from the Nigerien consulate in Kano, Nigeria and at every checkpoint; I presented them upon request and was allowed to proceed. I had passed up to 10 checkpoints and was cleared accordingly until I approached Agadez. The security alleged that the document authorizing my journey was signed but wasn’t stamped. I have been detained since then and am left wondering how I should be punished for a fault of no mine. As an experienced cross border reporter, Lawan Danjuma sought and got the relevant documentation from the Kano Consulate office of the Nigerien embassy after stating his mission to Agadez” Dan Ali added that “It was the same documentation that he used at different check points including the Nigeria/Niger border post at Kongolom, Katsina state and was only stopped and arrested on reaching Agadez,”.

Daily Trust however is calling for the immediate release of Danjuma.

“We see the arrest as an infringement of his right as an ECOWAS citizen and have since reached the Nigerien authorities to ask for the release of the reporter. We are shocked that more than 24 hours after the arrest, he still is being held and his freedom is being curtailed”