THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Nasarawa state has condemned the attack on a Breeze FM Lafia journalist, Edwin Philip, during the governorship and state Assembly elections.
The ICIR gathered that some officers of the NSCDC assaulted Philip while he was reporting the electoral process live on his news platform.
Philip, who is the head of News at the FM station, was said to have started reporting the proceedings after he received a call that voters at polling unit 061, Chiroma ward, in Lafia East were asked to return to vote by 2:30pm after being accredited, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
The NSCDC, however, in a press statement by the state Public Relations Officer Jerry Victor, on Sunday, March 19, described the attack as a shameful act, vowng it would punish the perpetrators.
The statement read, “Commandant Bappa condemned this act in its totality, as it is not a true reflection of the character and attributes of the command’s personnel. He vowed to investigate the incident to fish out the perpetrators of the attack on the journalist.
“He harped on the need for officers and men of the command to exhibit high standards of professionalism in the discharge of their duties.
“The state commandant had directed that the injured journalist be immediately given medical attention with a promise to settle all bills incurred in order to avoid any health complications.”
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M