Nigerian security forces arrest US filmmaker

Port Harcourt, Nigeria: Authorities in Nigeria have charged an US journalist working on a documentary in the oil-producing Niger Delta with spying after he was arrested for filming the army, a media watchdog said on Tuesday.

Andrew Berends, a freelance journalist, was arrested on Sunday for filming a deployment by a joint military taskforce which patrols the region, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa said.

"He was handed over to the State Security Services for professional investigation, to simply ascertain his mission and why he intruded into an operational area, snapped video shots of troops and their deployment without clearance," Musa said.

He did not confirm any charge against Berends.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said Berends was charged with spying after being arrested in Nigeria's oil hub of Port Harcourt, detained for 36 hours and forced to hand over his passport.

"Berends was arrested for doing his job and no other reason," the rights group said. "This is the third time in a year that baseless charges of spying have been brought against foreign journalists."

Berends, who arrived in Nigeria in April, was released late on Monday with orders to report back to the State Security Services in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. His Nigerian translator, Samuel George, remains in custody.