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 **  *****  *****    ***           COMMUNIQUE # 5 - 2
 **  **     **      ** **          15 January 1996
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International Freedom of Expression eXchange Clearing House

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NIGERIA: PIRATE RADIO SURVIVES DESPITE GOVERNMENT ATTACKS ON
MEDIA

Pirate radio is a good source of news in Nigeria these days,
according to the January issue of "La Lettre", the bulletin of
Reporters sans frontieres (RSF). Radio Freedom Frequency (RFF),
the first pirate radio on the air in Nigeria since Radio Biafra
(which broadcast during the civil war from 1967 to 1970), has
been broadcasting "illegally" since the end of June, writes Herve
Deguine. Its mandate is to "liberate this nation from the hold of
the corrupt leaders who have sworn to drive Nigeria to its ruin."
In a separate interview, Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka
explained that RFF has greatly upset the military rulers, who
have tried in vain to shut down the antennas used by the pirate
radio station. Soyinka, who is currently living in the United
Kingdom, said his house was even searched once to no avail. The
station switches frequencies occasionally and sometimes must go
off the air.

The continuing survival of RFF is particularly important with the
recent attacks on Nigerian newspapers and arrests of more
journalists. "Tell" magazine has been publishing underground
since it was seized in December. According to the Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ), agents of the State Security Service
(SSS) confiscated 20,000 copies of "Tell"'s Christmas Day
edition, and on 16 December, 55,000 copies of Tell were seized
from Academy Press, the magazine's printing house. On 1 January,
Nigerian security agents unsuccessfully attempted to seize
"Tell", resorting instead to seizing the publication from Lagos
vendors. Nosa Igiebor, editor-in-chief of "Tell", was arrested on
23 December and remains in detention. The home of "Tell"'s
managing editor, Onome Osifo-Whiskey, was raided on 23 December
and "Tell" reporters Adedisi Dejo, Emmanuel Piper, Yeni Oldwolabi
and Iyi Isaac were arrested on 15 December.

The CPJ also reported that on 15 December, "The Guardian" was the
victim of arson and on 16 December, police laid siege to "AM
News". Then on 19 December, police assaulted and detained four
photojournalists: Peter Obe, Segun Olakitan of "Tell", Abiodun
Ajala of "This Day", and Bayo Ewuoso of "AM News". On 20
December, Lagos vendor Olabisi Akintoye was arrested for
possession of "unpatriotic magazines." On New Year's eve, the
office of the Independent Communications Network, the publishers
of "The News", "Tempo", and "Tempofootball", was firebombed,
destroying millions of naira worth of property. The CPJ also
reported that Paul Adams, a "Financial Times of London"
journalist, was arrested in Ogoniland and later released.
** ** **

The IFEX "Communique" is published weekly in English, French and
Spanish by the IFEX Clearing House, Toronto. The facility is
operated by the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists in
partnership with the member organizations of the International
Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX). Material for the
"Communique" may be submitted to the CCPJ, 490 Adelaide Street
West, Suite 205, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 1T2, CANADA; E-mail:
ifex@web.apc.org; Tel: (1-416) 703-1638; or Fax: (1-416)
703-7034. Editor: Kristina Stockwood. Subscriptions are available
by e-mail and surface mail. The views expressed in the
"Communique" are the responsibility of the sources to which they
are attributed.


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   Association mondiale des radiodiffuseurs communautaires
      World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters
          Asociacion mundial de radios comunitarias
3575 Blvd. St. Laurent, Suite 704     Email: amarc@web.apc.org
Montreal, Quebec                         Tel: (1-514) 982-0351
CANADA  H2X 2T7                          Fax: (1-514) 849-7129
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