FCO in protest over arrest

The Foreign Office has protested formally to the Nigerian government over the arrest and deportation of a British academic caught up in tensions between Muslims and Christians.

Michael Motimoore was working at Bayero University in the northern city of Kano when he was detained by security agents, held overnight in a police cell and put on the first flight to London.

Mr Motimoore, a senior research fellow in the department of geography at Cambridge University, is engaged in an Overseas Development Administration-funded project, based at Bayero, on farm management in arid areas.

According to unofficial sources, Mr Motimoore was alleged to be actively seeking to convert Muslims to Christianity, an allegation he denies strongly. It is also dismissed as without foundation by most of his Muslim colleagues.

A Foreign Office spokesman in London said the High Commission in Lagos had intervened to ensure Mr Motimoore's safety and well-being prior to deportation. "We understand Mr Motimoore's concerns and we agree he has been treated badly by the Nigerians. This is a point we have made to the Nigerian government."

Mr Motimoore was detained and deported late in October, shortly before the first anniversary of the execution of writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, during a period of heightened tension between Christians and Muslims.

"I was arrested in a manner I found most objectionable," Mr Motimoore said. "They came after dark in civilian clothes in a private car."

In April Mr Motimoore was present at an act of worship at the university which coincided with a Muslim festival. The university lecture theatre was destroyed in rioting and several people were hurt, including Mr Motimoore. He believes that it was this that led to his expulsion.

"It appears Mr Motimoore was seen as a link to the Christian elements, and as such, the university withdrew its support from him," the Foreign Office spokesman said.

The deportation angered staff and students in the university's faculty of social sciences, where Mr Motimoore was head of geography from 1978 to 1986. One consequence was the resignation of Attahiru Jega, deputy vice chancellor (academic affairs) at Bayero.