The Daily Trust deputy editor has been arrested in Nigerien city of Agadez allegedly in connection with his professional activities related to his investigation of migrant crisis.
The investigation journalist, Lawan Adamu who is looking into migration routes of Africans travelling to Europe through Agadez, has been arrested in the outskirts of this desert Nigerien town, famous as a transit point for thousands of migrants aspiring to get to EU across Sahara desert, Libya and the Mediterranean.
Despite Nigerien aithorities claim that the journalist has been arrested because his travel documents issued by the сonsulate of Niger republic in Kano were invalid, the Nigerian journalist insists that prior to his arrest at least ten law enforcement officials checked and verified his travel documents at several checkpoints. Adamu’s professional activity is presumably the only sound reason for his detention from the side of Nigerien officials. The painful topic of migrant crisis is closely related with corruption issue and considerable risk for migrants’ lives. They are risking everything while crossing the hot sands of Sahara and then the deep waters of Mediterranean.
Lawan Adamu has been behind bars since Saturday afternoon, where, according to his own words, his human rights were violated by dehumanizing treatment.
“I told them [those who arrested him] that they [the Niger consulate in Kano] made no error because my mission was clearly stated at the consulate.”
“Assuming they made the error, is it fair to subject me to this treatment because of somebody’s error?” Adamu asked his colleagues by phone from the prison.
Mahmud Jega, the Daily Trust associate director, stated the company is doing everything possible to secure Lawan Adamu’s release, adding that Nigerien authorities had no grounds to arrest the journalist on a lawful duty, especially considering the fact that Adamu sought permission from the Niger consulate in Kano despite being an ECOWAS citizen.
Route from Africa to Europe through Agadez is used by the migrants from Nigeria, Eritrea and other troubled Sub-Saharan African countries.