IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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PRESS RELEASE/ALERT - NIGERIA

21 November 2002

Explosion destroys newspaper's offices

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 20 November 2002 CPJ press release:

NIGERIA: Explosion destroys newspaper's offices

New York, November 20, 2002-On Friday, November 15, an explosion destroyed
the offices of the independent weekly National Pilot in Ilorin, the capital
of Nigeria's west central Kwara State. Five people were seriously injured in
the blast-which local sources suspected was a politically motivated bomb
attack-including the paper's deputy editor-in-chief, Mudasiru Adewuyi.

The explosion occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Friday, while the
paper's staff was preparing its latest edition for release on Monday. The
blast caused the roof of the building to collapse, injuring five workers and
destroying a substantial amount of equipment. The injured workers were taken
to a local hospital.

With printing assistance from the private daily This Day, which is based in
Lagos in southwestern Nigeria, National Pilot issued this week's edition on
Monday, November 18.

Dr. Bukola Saraki, a prominent local businessman and son of Nigeria's former
senate leader, launched National Pilot four months ago. Known for its
critical coverage of the local government, the newspaper has become one of
the most popular in Kwara Sate.

Saraki called the attack "state terrorism against the press." When contacted
by CPJ, he explained that the attack followed a visit to the newspaper's
offices earlier that week from local government officials who asked about a
front-page story in National Pilot's previous edition that mentioned a
petition calling for an anti-corruption probe into Kwara State governor
Muhammed Lawal, who is suspected of misappropriating funds. When the
newspaper's staff refused to cooperate, the officials threatened their
lives, Saraki said.

Lawal denied state government involvement in the explosion, said local
newspapers, and instead accused National Pilot of mounting a "self-inflicted
attack" aimed at discrediting his administration. Nigerian sources said that
tension between Lawal and Saraki is mounting ahead of national elections
scheduled for Spring 2003, in which Bukola Saraki is considering running for
governor of Kwara State.

Over the weekend, Nigerian president Olesegun Obasanjo promised a federal
police investigation into the attack, saying that the national government
would deal with those responsible. Lawal, meanwhile, ordered state
authorities to conduct an inquiry rather than leaving the investigation to
the police.

On November 18, Lawal inaugurated a seven-member panel of inquiry, composed
of individuals from state security forces, a High Court judge, and a
representative from the Nigerian Union of Journalists, to investigate the
attack on the National Pilot. Local sources later said that Lawal told
reporters that police had apprehended several suspects, who have been taken
to Nigeria's capital, Abuja, for further questioning.

Political violence in Kwara State has been rising ahead of national
elections. In August, a senior politician in the state from President
Obasanjo's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) was murdered. Two months
earlier, at least two people died in street fighting between supporters of
the PDP and Lawal's All Nigeria Peoples Party in Kwara.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press
conditions in Nigeria, visit www.cpj.org.

For further information, contact Yves Sorokobi (ext. 112), Wacuka Mungai
(ext. 106) or Adam Posluns (ext. 107) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Internet:
http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this press release/alert is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
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