Soyinka criticises detention of journalist

Nobel literary laureate Wole Soyinka has criticised the detention of the chairman of the Lagos Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), `The Guardian' newspaper of Lagos reported on Monday. The journalist, Lanre Arogundade, is being held at the Iyaganku Central Police Station, Ibadan, western Nigeria, the newspaper said. He was arrested on 25 April, following a petition by a faction of the union, in connection with allegations that he had something to do with the death of former NUJ treasurer Bolade Fasasi, shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Ibadan. Soyinka, who visited Arogundade in his cell, said that detaining him without charge for more than 24 hours after his arrest was unacceptable. "This type of conduct would not be acceptable from the police and would never be acceptable to human rights activists," the paper quoted Soyinka as saying.