Senior lawyer Abdul Mahmud has confirmed the arrest of Okey Ndibe, a U.S.-based Nigerian writer, who was allegedly picked up by State Security Service agents at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos on Monday.

Peoples Gazette learnt that Mr Ndibe was subsequently released by the SSS after the secret service claimed that the officer handling his case file had travelled out of the country. 

Mr Mahmud, a critic, condemned the detention of the novelist, noting that it was unjustifiable and reckless.

“The arrest of the US-based Nigerian novelist, Professor Okey Ndibe, is uncalled for, unjustifiable and reckless. Another sad instance of Nigeria’s permanent emergency I wrote about in an op-ed today. 

The SSS should release Okey forthwith,” Mr Mahmud. 

Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) also condemned the detention of the novelist by the SSS, in a post on Monday. 

Mr Sowore wrote, “Okey Ndibe, a distinguished writer and Nigerian public intellectual, based in the US was detained earlier today at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos upon his arrival from the United States by operatives of the lawless @OfficialDSSNG.

“According to Prof. @OkeyNdibe the secret police claimed that his arrival in Nigeria was “suspicious” and demanded that he disclose where he intended to go and whom he planned to visit. When it became clear that his detention could trigger public outrage, the DSS reportedly changed its position, claiming that the officer in charge of his “case file” had traveled out of the country and they were attempting to contact her. He was eventually released.”

He further condemned the incident, adding that the detention of the novelist is yet another disturbing sign of the shrinking civic space under the President Bola Tinubu’s regime. 

“From the harassment of journalists, activists, and dissenting voices to the increasing use of state institutions to intimidate critics, the pattern has reached an intolerable level that must be totally resisted,” Mr Sowore noted.

Mr Ndibe was arrested in 2011, 2013 and then 2017 over critical pieces berating the Nigerian government under then-presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Ndibe said he had become accustomed to the endless cycle of detentions and release after spending days, sometimes hours in SSS holding facilities, according to a 2013 opinion article.

The secret service at the time claimed that the novelist was detained for being on the agency’s watclist.