SERAP condemns Okey Ndibe’s detention, accuses Tinubu govt of rights crackdown

June 1, 2026

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has condemned the reported detention of renowned Nigerian novelist and author, Okey Ndibe, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) upon his arrival in Nigeria, describing the action as arbitrary and a violation of fundamental human rights.

In a statement issued on Monday, SERAP said it “condemn[s] the reported arbitrary detention today of novelist and author Okey Ndibe by the Tinubu government upon his arrival in Nigeria.”

While noting reports that the author had since been released, the organisation insisted that “he should never have been detained in the first place simply for the peaceful exercise of his human rights.”

According to SERAP, “Okey Ndibe was detained by DSS (SSS) operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos upon his arrival from the United States.”