11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Akwa Ibom State: Printing plants of the paper "Events" were raided because an article linked the governor Godswill Akpabio with illegal transactions in Abia State ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23395]

"On June 27, 15 armed men, including two police officers in uniform, stormed the printing plant of privately owned weekly paper Events in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and allegedly seized about 5,000 copies of the newspaper. The men arrived in five vehicles, one of which had a government license plate from southern Akwa Ibom State. The raid was linked to an article in the paper reporting an alleged criminal indictment against Governor Godswill Akpabio over illicit business transactions in neighboring Abia State. Although Governor Akpabio had been indicted by a commission of inquiry, he had not been formally indicted by a court. The paper republished the story the following day without incident. On October 10, the SSS arrested Events editor Jerome Imeime and charged him with sedition for criticizing the state's governor on the front page of the paper. Imeime was released three weeks later, and no further information was available at year's end."

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