NIGERIA: THREATS TO FREEDOM OF PRESS TO CONTINUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 002359 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA, DRL - KAREN GILBRIDE E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: THREATS TO FREEDOM OF PRESS TO CONTINUE REF: A. ABUJA 2292 ¶B. ABUJA 1914 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b & d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On November 27, Nigerian Police arrested "Leadership" publisher Sam Nda Isaiah and three others in relation to a November 8 article published regarding President Yar'Adua's health (ref A). All four were charged with defamation and subsequently released on bail until their December 16 court date. On November 25, after a ceremonial presentation of the eGranary digital library to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ),CPAO, IO, PASAsst, and Poloff spoke privately with NUJ National President Ndagene Ndamele Akwu, National Secretary Shu'aibu Usman Leman, and Vice President Zone H (Federal Capital Territory and Niger State) Gbenga Onayiga about USG concerns over the recent challenges to freedom of the press. Leman stressed that additional incidents were likely to occur because the federal government wanted to "muzzle the media" until after the Presidential Election Tribunal Supreme Court ruling was issued. Although the NUJ claimed that poor working conditions and low salaries frequently allowed political influence to play a role in reporting as some journalists are paid by political opponents to plant certain stories. That being said, the media continues to hit the sensitive nerve of the Villa security services by reporting on the state of President Yar'Adua's health. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) On November 27, Nigerian Police arrested "Leadership" publisher Sam Nda Isaiah, Daily Editor Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, Weekend Editor Lara Olugbemi, and an unnamed reporter. According to media reports, all four were immediately arraigned and charged with "defamation of character and injurious falsehood," for a November 8 story alleging that President Yar'Adua was critically ill. The judge granted all four defendants 500,000 naira ($4240) bail and ordered them to return to court on December 16 for trial proceedings. Prior to the arrests and arraignment, on November 14, the State Security Service (SSS) detained and questioned Isaiah for two days (ref A). (Comment: We believe that the harassment of "Leadership" senior staff may also be related to the newspaper's publishing on November 14 of a list of purported Ministerial nominees which, based on the list later submitted to the Senate for confirmation, appeared to be accurate. We suspect that the SSS is trying to ascertain the source of the leak from the Villa to the press. End Comment.) ¶3. (C) On November 25, following a brief ceremony where CPAO and IO presented the eGranary digital library to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ); CPAO, IO, PASAsst, and Poloff discussed the GON's recent actions against freedom of the press with NUJ National President Ndagene Ndamele Akwu, National Secretary Shu'aibu Usman Leman, and Vice President for Zone H (Federal Capital Territory and Niger State) Gbenga Onayiga. The NUJ President appeared reluctant to meet with us and deferred all questions to the National Secretary. (Note: NUJ President is an elected position and Akwu's hesitation to speak on the subject may be due to his own political aspirations and fear of offending the wrong people. End Note.) National Secretary Leman, however, spoke freely and shared his belief that such incidents would continue if journalists persisted in reporting on President Yar'Adua's health. The President "refuses to admit he is sick" due to his "discomfort" and nervousness at the impending final ruling of the Supreme Court on the outcome of the 2007 Presidential Election, said Leman. According to Leman, the GON's "lack of tolerance" and attempts to "muzzle the media" would not abate until after the ruling was announced. ¶4. (C) When asked what the NUJ was doing on behalf of the harassed "Leadership" staff, Leman replied that the organization was walking a fine line. It wanted to show "solidarity" in the face of the government's actions against the newspaper, while not being seen to be endorsing what "Leadership" actually published. Adding to the complexity of the situation, Leman suggested that not all parties were being truthful. Leman claimed that "Leadership" Publisher ABUJA 00002359 002 OF 002 Sam Nda Isaiah in fact wrote the article in question and used one his reporter's bylines as a scapegoat. (Note: The reporter was subsequently fired. End Note.) Leman added that the NUJ tried to convince the GON not to take the case to court since "Leadership" did in fact print a retraction, but Minister of Information John Odey would no longer take Leman's calls. Leman explained that, in the past, if a journalist was going to be questioned, the Minister would call him to give the NUJ a head's up; but that no longer appeared to be the case. Leman lamented that this was yet another effort on behalf of the government to stifle the NUJ. For example, Leman explained, the NUJ was recently evicted from their former Secretariat and remained in temporary quarters, awaiting the government's allocation of a new space. ¶5. (C) When CPAO inquired if self-censorship was a concern, Leman replied that political influence played more of a role than actual self-censorship. Since journalists generally receive such small wages, if any at times, their loyalty and byline are easily purchased, explained Leman. Although journalists need to be more "responsible," Leman stressed that their lack of incentive was due to the poor quality of working conditions. In a separate conversation with Poloff, Onayiga called journalists "irresponsible" and said that many lacked proper training. Onayiga agreed that the GON "overreacted" in the closure of Channels TV in September (ref B),but that in general, journalists should not be allowed to speak poorly about the President. He said that the GON needed to take such strong actions in order to send the right message to the media that they will be held accountable for what they print. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: NUJ President Akwu's unwillingness to discuss the situation was disappointing and raised the question of the NUJ's true commitment to protecting journalists and freedom of the press. The National Secretary, however, spoke quite frankly about his concerns for future incidents, and will likely be a good interlocutor for the Mission on this issue. Despite the NUJ's calls for the GON not to take "Leadership" to court, we believe the Villa plans to use the courts to legitimize its actions, especially if the defendants are found guilty in this case. Although there has been a lull in reporting on or about the President's health in recent days, we agree with Leman that additional crackdowns are likely if the subject resurfaces in the media, as it almost certainly will. END COMMENT. ¶7. (U) This cable coordinated with Consulate Lagos. Sanders