Another Shame for Nigeria

Akinwumi Adesokan, a cultural writer with the Post Express in Lagos, Nigeria’s capital, was arrested Nov. 12 and is said to be in solitary confinement at the State Security Service offices there. His detention is one more desperate act by the authoritarian regime of Gen. Sani Abacha, whose fear of critical words seems unbounded. All possible pressure should be brought on Abacha to release Adesokan, who is said to be ill.

This is not the first time that Adesokan has suffered for his commentaries on the politics of the arts and on human rights and freedom of expression. He was jailed for a week in 1993 by a previous dictator, and his situation didn’t improve after Abacha deposed Gen. Ibrahim Babaginda in 1994. So Adesokan--whose first novel, “Roots in the Sky,” won the Association of Nigerian Authors’ prize in 1996--sought and found temporary refuge in California. Villa Aurora, a Pacific Palisades scholarly institute for writers and artists in residence, granted him a six-month fellowship.

While Adesokan was in Southern California, the political situation in Nigeria took a turn for the worse. Abacha’s government introduced decrees that allowed it to jail citizens without a judicial hearing. Exiled Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka and many other prominent pro-democracy activists in exile were charged with treason; Soyinka faces execution if he returns--the fate suffered by the activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995.

Adesokan was able to extend his stay abroad with a fellowship in Austria, but this month he tried to return home and was arrested at the border. The arrest was kept secret, but the authors organization PEN Center USA West learned of it and launched a campaign to free him. The group says the writer is suffering from malaria and has been denied medical care.

The voice of Akin Adesokan should be heard. Abacha must free this champion of free speech without further delay.