Drama As Nigerian Officials Call London Police To Arrest Guardian Reporter Seeking To Interview Buhari

There was drama yesterday at the Abuja House in London where President Buhari is staying, as security men called the police to arrest a correspondent of The Guardian newspaper who came calling, demanding to see President Muhammadu Buhari for an interview.

The newspaper reports that after the reporter arrived the Abuja house which serves as official residence of the Nigerian High commissioner to the UK in the afternoon, requesting to see Mr. Buhari, a member of staff of the Nigerian Mission told him that the President wasn’t there.

But around 2:50pm, a black Mercedes Benz SUV arrived the budilding and the occupant sitting by the driver rolled down the glass and asked the The Guardian journalist, “why are you here?”

“When I told him that l was a reporter with The Guardian and l had come to see if the president was there and to interview him, he looked quite irritated and replied angrily: ‘he’s not here, you can’t see anybody here’.

Shortly after, two police officers, Constables Marlett and Stock, arrived on their motorcycles with the intent to arrest the reporter. They took the reporter’s name and date of birth and subsequently made a check on the national database, before staying around for about 20 minutes and then left.

The reporter was then directed to go to the Embassy- Nigerian House at Northumberland Avenue to see any official there for any information he is seeking to get. “Somebody should be there,” he was told.

At about 1:20 p.m., a man and a teenage-looking girl presumably President Buhari’s daughter, arrived the gate and they were granted access, the reporter said.

When asked: ”Is that the daughter of the president?”, the security officer replied “I don’t know.” When The Guardian reporter pressed the gate buzzer about five minutes later, the security man sounded angry and threatened to call the police. “You should realise this is a private place and I will call the police,” the security officer said. When he was immediately corrected and told that the reporter was standing outside in a public place, he then said:” l won’t speak to you again.”