The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria, through its Safety and Protection of Journalists (SPJ), has expressed serious concern over police brutality against Daniel Ojukwu, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), by police officers at the Ikeja Police Command in Lagos State.
According to IPC-SPJ Hub, Ojukwu was physically and mentally assaulted while he was at the police station to meet with the Complaints Response Unit (CRU) to obtain details of policemen who had extorted money from detainees, reports The Guardian.
Ojukwu’s eyeglasses were shattered, his wristwatch was ripped off, his phone was damaged, and he also suffered body injuries during the unfortunate incident.
The IPC-SPJ-Hub, therefore, urged the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin, to fulfill his promise of looking into the footage of the CCTV and get to the root of the incident, adding: “The police should take adequate and swift measures to bring to book those who assaulted the journalist while putting in place machinery to compensate Ojukwu for this inhumane treatment.
“We also call on the Nigeria Police Force to step up the training of its officers to be more respectful and courteous while discharging their duties. They should be reminded constantly that the primary responsibility of the police is the protection of citizens, including journalists and every other civilian.”
In a related development, the IPC-SPJ-Hub has called for better understanding of the role of journalists during emergencies to avoid the kind of incident that occurred between the Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Kayode Opeifa, and an editor with Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), who is also a former President of the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Ladi Bala, following an altercation between her and Opeifa on the Abuja-Kaduna train derailment incident.
Bala had told the IPC that she was verbally abused and threatened by Opeifa.
“Emergency situations would always occur, and public officials must always be willing to accommodate journalists’ thirst for credible information at such moments. In such circumstances, the public interest dictates that those in authority and security agencies should cooperate with journalists, patiently explain any security concerns and generally refrain from comments or gestures that may be interpreted as threats,” Arogundade stated.
Meanwhile, Opeifa has apologised to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Federal Capital Territory chapter, over his assault on Bala.
Opeifa made the apology during a media briefing at the NUJ FCT secretariat in Abuja yesterday.
The NUJ had demanded a public apology from Opeifa over the incident.
In his apology, Opeifa said he was carried away in the heat of the moment, saying: “I wish to offer my apology for the regrettable remarks I made, which were not only directed at a seasoned journalist but also reflected unfavourably on the NUJ FCT and the NAWOJ.
In another development, the Minister of Transportation, Saidu Ahmed Alkali, and Opeifa, have ruled out sabotage in last week’s Abuja-Kaduna train derailment, assuring Nigerians of the safety of rail services in the country.
Alkali, who acknowledged that vandalism of railway assets remains a challenge despite several arrests and prosecutions, disclosed that four of the 10 derailed coaches during the incident had been removed with the aid of specialised rail cranes.
