The Nigerian press won its own freedom without relying on the courts or enjoying their cooperation. Our freedom has been won at very high cost. We va… - Chris Anyanwu

What I saw in the days of incarceration is a long story but to me what is important are the positive things that came out of it...I now appreciate life more fully. I have learned the true meaning of freedom. I value it and will fight for it both for myself and others.

The information support of IFEX has really helped press freedom NGOs around the world to lift advocacy work to new heights so that there was pressure everywhere Abacha’s government reared its head...Without the work of groups like CCPJ, the tyrannical grip on Nigeria would have been tighter. The widespread negative publicity and the groundswell of consciousness it raised neutralized the millions of dollars they spent laundering the image of a sick regime.

The fact that this bad precedent has been repeated by a government that espouses respect for human rights is dangerous. What it implies is a deepening belief among the military that journalists can write a coup.