Nigerian Authorities Offsides on Newsroom Raid Over Soccer Story

Image via WikipediaThe offices of  The National Accord, an Abuja, Nigeria-based daily newspaper, allegedly were ransacked by authorities, and its editor arrested, based on articles concerning a purported scandal involving the Nigeria Football Federation ("NFF").

National Accord Editor Olajide Fashikun told the Associated Press that he was released on bail, but police retained his laptop computer and hard drive concerning an NFF-initiated slander probe. The daily has reported about an alleged letter containing the purportedly forged signature of  Sepp Blatter, president of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

The AP reported that the Nigerian government's harassment of journalists is commonplace.