Abdul Hamid Adiamoh is a Nigerian journalist and publisher of '' Today Newspaper'' in

the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

Career

Adiamoh was born in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

to a teacher and architect. The second of six children, he attended

Ibadan Grammar School Ibadan Grammar School is a secondary school in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria. It is currently located at Molete area, close to St. David grammar school. History Established in March 31st 1913. It is among the notable oldest secondary school in Ibada ...

, Ibadan and

Ladoke Akintola University Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) is a tertiary institution located in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. The university enrolls over 30,000 students and employs more than 3,000 workers including contract staff. History In 1987, Go ...

Ogbomosho Ogbomosho (also Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́) is a city in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria. It was founded in the mid 17th century. The population was approximately 454,690 in the 2006 census. It is the second largest city in Oyo State and also among ...

, Nigeria. He left Nigeria during the

Abacha Abacha is a town in Anambra State in the southeastern part of Nigeria. It is bordered by Abatete, Nimo, Oraukwu and Eziowelle Eziowelle is a town in Idemili North local government area of Anambra State, Nigeria. Eziowelle translates into En ...

administration and settle in the Gambia, where he established himself as a business journalist with the ''Daily Observer Newspaper''. He left the ''Observer'' to start his own company, first called ''MediaMethods'' and then ''INK''. He started the ''Business Gambia'', a monthly business magazine, in association with the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. ''Today Newspaper'' first published in July 2007.

Challenges

In September 2007, Adiamoh was arrested for publishing an article on children skipping school, picking scrap metal, and selling it to scrap dealers. According to the charge sheet brought against him, he was accused of seditious intention. Media reports of the event cite the attempt by state forces to stifle the media. His arrest and bail (in 200,000 Gambian

dalasi The dalasi is the currency of the Gambia that was adopted in 1971. It is subdivided into 100 bututs. It replaced the Gambian pound at a rate of 1 pound = 5 dalasis, i.e. 1 dalasi = 0.2 pound = 4 shillings. The derivative of ''dala'' is unknown. ...

, corresponding to about

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

9500) coincided with the conviction and sentencing of Fatou Jaw Manneh, another journalist who was found guilty of a 2005 article. Adiamoh was also arrested in June 2009 for false publication. ''TODAY'' had on June 10 reported the sack of two Gambian ministers - Attorney General Marie Saine Firdaus and minister for Local Government, Ismaila Sambou as part of a landslide cabinet reshuffle. Finding the report to be untrue, ''TODAY'' of June 11, 2009 retracted the story, and published a public apology. The paper also mentioned its efforts to stop the circulation of the edition. Despite these efforts, Adiamoh was arrested, detained for five days, before he was charged for false publication and broadcasting, a criminal offence under Gambian laws that could carry a maximum sentence of D250,000 fine or a six-month imprisonment term. Adiamoh lives in the Gambia with his family.

References

External links

Today boss pleads guilty To know his fate today (The Daily Observer - Gambia News)Day of the Imprisoned Writer (PEN Center USA)
*[http://wow.gm/africa/gambia/banjul/article/2008/7/27/gambia-alert-two-newspaper-journalists-briefly-detained-one-charged-with-sedition Two newspaper journalists briefly detained, one charged with sedition]
Police detain Nigerian publisher overnight, search his house and confiscate his resideNewspaper publisher detained again, court grants him bail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adiamoh, Abdul Hamid Living people Nigerian newspaper journalists People from Ibadan Ibadan Grammar School alumni Ladoke Akintola University of Technology alumni Nigerian expatriates in the Gambia Year of birth missing (living people)