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In Nigeria Buhari Jails Premium Times Reporter As UN DSG Mohammed Silent and Restricts Inner City Press

By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR, Fox, Petition, SG

UNITED NATIONS GATE, August 14 – Nigeria under Buhari has not only violated international law by refoulement of 47 to Nigeria - it is also violated basic principles of freedom of the press. Back on 20 June 2018 Inner City Press reported how journalist Jones Abiri had been held by Buhari's Department of State Security for nearly two years. Then on June 22, UN Security under Secretary General Antonio Guterres - and his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed -- pushed Inner City Press out of the UN lobby during a speech by Guterres. Video here. On July 3 they went further, violently ousted Inner City Press from covering the UN Budget Committee meeting, see video via UK Independent; Guterres and USG Alison Smale have banned Inner City Press for 42 days since, with no end in sight. See CJR, Fox. Now in Nigeria the security forces are "forcing a PREMIUM TIMES journalist to disclose his source.The Nigerian police, through the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on Tuesday arrested and detained Samuel Ogundipe, who covers the security sector. Apart from Mr Ogundipe, this newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Musikilu Mojeed, and its education correspondent, Azeezat Adedigba, were also briefly detained and manhandled by the police at the SARS headquarters in Abuja. Ms Adedigba was later released after about three hours of detention. Mr Mojeed and Mr Ogundipe were driven from the SARS headquarters in Abuja to the IGP Monitoring Unit at Force Headquarters where Mr Ogundipe was made to write a statement. The story, also published by other media, revealed a letter written by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on last week’s siege to the National Assembly by security officials." And from Amina Mohammed? Nothing. She is responsible for censorship in the UN as well. She has been cc-ed on every complaint. Now that the UN is saying the ban is about making people "uncomfortable," could that be her, in the rosewood matter on which she never answered the Press? See below.  In February and March 2018, the DSS also arrested Tony Ezimakor, the Abuja bureau chief of the privately owned Daily Independent newspaper.  Nigeria will hold elections in February 2019. Where is Amina J. Mohammed? Her spokesman Stephane Dujarric continues to restrict Inner City Press after evicting it. And some of those virtue signaling on press freedom have done nothing, about the UN.  Mohammed, who while she was the Buhari Government's Environmental Minister signed some 4000 certificates for endangered rosewood already exported to China from Nigeria and Cameroon, was in Abuja when dozens of Cameroonians were refouled to Yaounde, and has yet to speak out. On May 7, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about Nigeria, from the UN transcript: Inner City Press: letter from Nigeria from the People's Democratic Party and its Chairman, Uche Secondus, describing what they describe as violations by President [Muhammadu] Buhari of the rights of journalists and of opponents.  And I wanted to know, has that one been received and what's the…

Spokesman:  I will check.  I'm not aware that it has.

Inner City Press:  And is the DSG (Deputy Secretary-General) going to have any involvement in responding?

Spokesman:  Let's see if the letter's been received, and then we'll see the response." A full day later, nothing from Dujarric, nor from Mohammed, under whom Inner City Press remains restricted to minders, and less access than state media from Egypt and elsewhere. So on May 8 Inner City Press asked Dujarric again - and he still wouldn't confirm receipt of this widely reported letter. Nor would he explain the non-availability of the UN's May 8 transcript even by 7 pm. So, video of his denial, here. [Later, the transcript became available, here: Inner City Press: I'm going to ask you again about can you announce the receipt of a letter from the People's Democratic Party of Nigeria that they say was sent to the Secretary-General, complaining about human rights abuses by [Muhammadu] Buhari?

Spokesman:  No, I have not had a confirmation of that."] Amid the worsening crackdown by the army of 36-year Cameroon president Paul Biya in the country's Anglophone areas, a video has circulated depicting soldiers burning down homes. Click here for one upload of it. Noted by many residents and activists: blue helmet of the type used by UN peacekeepers. On April 30 Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric about the video, the day after publishing a story about it, in Google News. Dujarric said he hadn't seen the video but militaries should to use UN equipment or colors, presumably when burning civilians homes down. Video here; from the UN transcript: Inner City Press: a video emerged over the weekend from Cameroon showing or depicting soldiers burning people's homes in the Anglophone areas, and what… what a lot of people focused on is that one of them, at least, is wearing a blue helmet.  I don't think it means the UN is doing it, but I do wonder, what are the rules?  I wanted to ask you, what are the rules if people have served in UN peacekeeping missions… have you seen the video?

Spokesman:  "I haven't seen that particular video, so I can't comment on the particular helmet, whether it was just blue or a UN helmet.  We have seen, in different parts of the world, various security forces and army… we've seen reports of them using equipment that they own, which had been painted white or blue and reused domestically.  It is a responsibility to ensure that no equipment that has UN markings is ever used in any domestic operation.  But, again, I'm not… that's a matter… that's an issue of principle.  I haven't… I can't comment on that specific report." Hours later, still nothing.

  The lack of confidence in the UN in these areas, and on this issue, was inflamed as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in October 2017 stopped by Yaounde on his way from the Central African Republic (where the UN pays Biya's government for peacekeepers who have been charged with sexual abuse). Guterres did not meet with any opposition figures, and accepted a golden statue from Biya.

  Guterres' envoy Francois Lounceny Fall has publicly said that secessionist are extremists, the word used by Biya to justify the scorched earth strategy exemplified by the video. Inner City Press asked UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zaid why his Office hasn't updated the death figures and he claimed it was because the UN has no access.

  Guterres' humanitarian Assistant Secretary General Ursula Mueller visited Cameroon, but not the Anglophone areas. (Inner City Press asked her why, here). Human Rights Watch didn't even include Cameroon in its 2018 “World Report,” and told Inner City Press this is because it does not view it as among the 90 most serious problems in the world.

   Guterres' Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed as in Abuja in her native Nigeria when 47 Cameroonians were illegally sent back by the Buhari government. Buhari will be in Washington on April 30 and a protest of Ambazonians is planned. Earlier in April, Inner City Press asked the US State Department about the refoulement to Cameroon and received a day later a statement. But what will happen on this video, and on the underlying issues? Watch this site.

***

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