Trinity College Professor Detained by the Nigerian Government

Okey Ndibe, the Allan K. Smith Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, spent the recent winter break traveling to his native Nigeria to visit family and conduct research for his upcoming book. But Professor Ndibe was detained upon his arrival and his passport was confiscated. Ndibe writes a weekly newspaper column that is widely read in Nigeria in which he frequently is highly critical of the Nigerian regime.

Professor Ndibe was not surprised that he was detained. He had made contingency plans with loved ones to alert the media should anything happen to him. Newspapers on three continents quickly printed condemnations of his treatment and the Committee for the Protection of Journalists in New York publicized his predicament. The Nigerian government soon backed down and Ndibe was permitted to return to the United States.

Dr. Ndibe plans to return to Nigeria this summer.

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