Chido Onumah, a Nigerian journalist and rights activist arrested and
detained by the Department of State Services on Sunday evening, says
he was arrested for wearing a T-shirt with the inscription: ‘We Are
All Biafrans'.
Onumah, who was arrested by DSS operatives at the Nnamdi Azikwe
Airport in Abuja, was detained for hours.
He was arrested upon arriving in the country from a trip abroad, at 5
pm on Sunday and released about five hours later.
The DSS denied Onumah from seeing his lawyer or any member of his family.
Speaking late on Sunday after his release, Onumah said he was told
that his arrest was because he wore a shirt with the inscription: ‘We
Are All Biafrans'.
“I was arrested for wearing the T-shirt because the SSS said it is
capable of causing disaffection in the country.
“They said some people had issues and had contacted them (SSS) whether
I was a part of a group that was planning against the country,” he
said.
'We Are All Biafrans', is the title of Onumah’s latest book, published
in December 2018, where he wrote about Nigeria, focusing on the need
to restructure Nigeria in order to be able to build a united country.
The author has no known links with any of the Biafran groups and has
opposed the breakup of Nigeria, calling instead for a restructured
country where power is devolved to its constituent parts.
The DSS has yet to make an official statement on the arrest of the
journalist and there are no indications it plans to file charges
against him.
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