He was arrested in November 1997 after returning from the Commonwealth Summit in Edinburgh, where he and other activists had appealed for stronger sanctions against the dictatorship of then Nigerian President Sani Abacha. He was held in solitary confinement without access to his family, lawyers, or doctors until his release in 1998, which occurred shortly after he received that year’s PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. His arrest was not officially acknowledged by Nigerian authorities, nor were any charges brought against him.