Britain concerned for Nigerian press as polls loom

ABUJA, Jan 30 (Reuters) Britain expressed concern today over press freedom in Nigeria ahead of April's landmark elections, citing the detention of four newspaper editors and the unsolved killing of a well-known journalist in Lagos.

The State Security Services (SSS) detained two editors from Leadership newspaper and two from the Abuja Inquirer on January 9 and 10 over political articles. They were freed within days but are still under investigation by the SSS.

''We are concerned at the recent actions taken against journalists of Leadership and the Abuja Inquirer,'' said Britain's High Commissioner to Nigeria Richard Gozney.

''Journalists should be free to cover the elections without intimidation, full stop,'' he said, addressing a meeting between the Independent National Electoral Commission and journalists.

Nigerians are due to elect their president, state governors and lawmakers in April elections that should mark the first democratic transition from one civilian government to another since independence from Britain in 1960.

Gozney also expressed concern over the December 22 killing of Godwin Agbroko, a well-known journalist and the head of the editorial board of This Day newspaper. Agbroko was shot in his car in Lagos in circumstances that have not been clarified.

Days later, part of the office building of This Day in Lagos burnt down in a fire that has also not been explained.

''We are very concerned at the tragedies that have hit This Day and we hope that ... there will be a full investigation whose results will be made public,'' Gozney said.

Press freedom has improved in Nigeria since it returned to civilian rule in 1999 after three decades of almost continuous military dictatorship, and newspapers frequently publish articles critical of government.

But the SSS, which answers to the presidency, is listed as a ''predator of press freedom'' by campaign group Reporters Without Borders. It occasionally arrests journalists, including two who were charged with sedition last year over a story saying the president's new jet was second-hand.

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