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EFCC Takes Over Detention of Blogger Elendu; Detains Another Journalist for Weeks

December 30, 2008
In a desperate attempt to justify the weeklong unlawful detention of Nigerian online blogger, Jonathan Elendu, state security services (SSS) officials last night in Abuja quietly transferred him to the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Apparently stung by public condemnation of its handling of the case and also for reasons that their lawyers said were unsustainable charges of sedition, the SSS decided to hand Elendu over to the EFCC so as to
keep him detained but incommunicado until Monday.

According to Elendu's lawyer, Ugo Moumah, the SSS earlier invited him to apply for Elendu's bail, but when he arrived at their headquarters to work out the necessary papers, he was merely told by the SSS that he had been "released", but they refused to tell him to whom he was released.

Our investigations revealed that Elendu wasn't released to the EFCC until it was too late for his lawyer to apply for administrative bail from the EFCC, a treatment that has led Elendu to embark on a prolonged hunger strike.

The proxy detention of Elendu by the EFCC has also revealed a new pattern by the EFCC to act a jailer of journalists and online reporters.  SaharaReporters investigations reveal that another online journalist, Adamu Gwarzo has been detained on the orders of the EFCC chairperson, Mrs. Farida Waziri, for nearly one month. Gwarzo has sued the troubled anti-corruption agency for violation of his fundamental human rights.

According to Gwarzo lawyers, Mrs. Waziri claimed she received a petition from someone who claimed to have been scammed by Gwarzo.  They claim that without investigating the case, she ordered Gwarzo detained.

SaharaReporters investigations reveal that the detention of Gwarzo, a Kano State indigene who writes for AFRIQUECHOS, a Switzerland-based magazine, follows a deal gone sour between Gwarzo and the EFCC chairperson.

  According to our investigations, Mrs. Waziri paid Gwarzo some money to help her reach out to the publishers of SaharaReporters to enable us to "tone down" what she told Gwarzo were "negative reports" about her.
 
When Gwarzo called our hotline requesting a meeting with Mrs. Waziri we disclosed our objection to such meetings with Nigerian government officials.  We also declined his offer to be a SaharaReporters reporter in Abuja. Gwarzo was detained indefinitely after the encounter with our publisher.

Both Gwarzo and Elendu seem to be sharing the same detention space at the EFCC detention office in Abuja. Our sources said Elendu is being pressurized to apologize to Nigeria's illegitimate "president", Umaru Yar'adua, for publications offensive to his office from online publishers that they claimed he sponsors.  His refusal to accede to that demand led to his transfer to the EFCC detention center in Abuja where he expected to be charged to court for "money laundering".
 
  However,  EFCC spokesperson, Femi Babafemi has denied that  the agency is holding Elendu in its custody.

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