'Riots writer' attacks Obasanjo

Over 220 people died in the riots

The journalist whose newspaper article was blamed for sparking riots that killed more that 220 people in Nigeria has told the BBC of her anger at those who subsequently attacked her - including President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Running clashes between Muslims and Christians began after Isioma Daniel's piece appeared in the ThisDay newspaper claiming that the Prophet Mohammed would not have complained about the Miss World competition being held in the country.

President Obasanjo was critical of Miss Daniel's role in the riots, saying she "should be brought to book" and that her article should not have been published.

But Miss Daniel defended herself, saying that Mr Obasanjo had simply been trying to make political capital out of the tragic events.

I thought it was funny light hearted and I didn't see it as anything anybody should take seriously or cause much fuss Isioma Daniel on her article

"I think he was criticising the wrong person," she told Osasu Obayiuwana on the BBC World Service's Talkabout Africa programme.

"I think he should have been criticising the people who were out in the streets who were killing and rampaging in the name of religion.

"I think he should have been speaking out harder against the Northern Islamic religious leaders who had encouraged their followers to go out in the streets.

"You know he is up for (re-) election and he's doing his best to keep everybody happy"

'Light-hearted comment'

And she maintained that her comment about the prophet Mohammed - that he may have chosen to marry one of the Miss World contestants - was a simple piece of satire that had been horribly misinterpreted.

Obasanjo is in the midst of an election campaign

"The particular sentence, the (prophet) Mohammed sentence, I added in as a last minute thing," Miss Daniel said.

"I thought it was funny light hearted and I didn't see it as anything anybody should take seriously or cause much fuss."

Since the article appeared, Miss Daniel has had a fatwa - a religious edict calling for her death - issued against her by the government of Zamfara state.

No regrets

But she told the BBC that she did not regret her actions, and criticised those who had reacted by killing over what she said was a tongue-in-cheek fashion article.

"Any sensible person would realise that no matter how offended you are you completely lose your right to protest and your right to disagree by being violent, by killing people, because that is the greatest wrong you can do," she said.

"We should have taken a stand, we should have said, Nigeria is a civilised society and what these people were doing was wrong, completely unjustified.

"That would have been a stronger legacy for the newspaper if we had been brave enough to do that."

Newspaper apology

She also expressed her disappointment at her newspaper, which had tried to distance itself from her after the riots.

"What disappointed me was they seemed to be doing their best to dismiss all the previous work I had done," she said.

The ThisDay offices were attacked in the riots

"(They were) saying things that I was on the style desk and basically trying to paint a picture that I was a frivolous and young journalist unable to handle serious and intelligent issues."

In an apology printed by the newspaper, Miss Daniel's article was described by ThisDay as "not only unjustified, but utterly provocative."

But she conceded that she understood why this statement had been made.

"They had to do what they did; I suppose to save the newspaper."

The full interview is first being broadcast at 1630GMT on Wednesday on the BBC World Service programme Talkabout Africa.

Click here to hear the programme after broadcast