Ndibe has not been writing for the Nigerian media over the last two years, concentrating instead on book writing and teaching at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Department of State Services (DSS) has picked up the popular Nigerian novelist and journalist, Professor Okey Ndibe, after he arrived in Nigeria on Monday morning, 1 June 2026.
His arrest was confirmed by his close friend and former Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C. Don Adinuba.
According to him, Ndibe was stopped at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos after his arrival, and was held for hours by DSS operatives.
Adinuba said, “His detention on arrival has been a regular occurrence since the days of President Goodluck Jonathan because of his critical articles on the Nigerian leadership.”
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The ex-commissioner, however, expressed shock over the arrest and detention this time, noting that “he has not been writing for the Nigerian media in the last two years, as he concentrates on book writing and teaching at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, his alma mater.”
He added, “On each occasion he was arrested in the past, he would be released after the airport DSS officials got in touch with their superiors in Abuja.
“It is a pity that this agency doesn’t update its database to enable the officers on duty at the airport to know that the agency no longer regards Prof Ndibe as a security threat to the administration.
“The agency has, on each occasion, apologised to him for the wrongful detention.”
Confirming the development in the morning in a text message that was forwarded to TheNiche newspaper, Ndibe said, “I’ve been with the SSS now for more than an hour. They’re waiting for clearance from some ọga before they let me go.”
Lamenting the arrest, another journalist and poet, Maxim Uzoatu, said in a text message he sent to TheNiche: “Prof Okey Ndibe, the distinguished novelist, academic and public intellectual, arrived Nigeria this morning from his base in the United States of America, and he is being detained by the State Security Services (SSS).
“The officials of the SSS insist that they are waiting for orders from above before he can be released.
“Prof Ndibe has time-bound duties he planned to accomplish in Nigeria which are being impeded by this unwarranted detention.
“This harassment by the security officers has been happening before only for them to apologize later after much harm had been done.
“It is crucial to note that Prof Ndibe has not written any journalism lately to make for this maltreatment and the recourse to higher officials of the SSS for his clearance.”
Meanwhile, the DSS is yet to give reason(s), if any, for their action as at the time of going to press.
