THE International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, through its Safety and Protection of Journalists (SPJ) Hub, has condemned the attack on a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Daniel Ojukwu, by officers of the Ikeja Police Command in Lagos State.
It frowned at the attack in a statement on Saturday, August 30, by its press freedom officer, Melody Akinjiyan.
The IPC stated that Ojukwu was performing his duty on Friday, August 29, when he was physically and mentally assaulted by police officers.
It alleged that Ojukwu’s glasses were shattered, his wristwatch ripped off, his phone damaged, and that he suffered bodily injuries during the attack.
According to the Centre, information collated by the IPC-SPJ Hub describes the inhumane treatment of Ojukwu by the police officers.
It said Ojukwu was at the police station to meet with the Complaints Response Unit (CRU) to obtain details of policemen who had extorted money from detainees.
“When he approached the Squad 1 office to ask to see the accused officers, three policemen pounced on him, seized his phone and began going through it,” IPC stated.
The Executive Director of the IPC, Lanre Arogundade said, “This incessant action or excessive use of force against Daniel Ojukwu is very dangerous to our democracy and a major threat to press freedom. Such acts of brutality also violate the fundamental human rights of the journalist.
“We urge the men of the Nigerian Police Force to be mindful of events around the world and not continually create an environment where journalists will be afraid to work and discharge their duties effectively and efficiently.”
The Centre urged the police public relations officer (PPRO) in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin, to fulfil his promise of looking into the footage of the CCTV and get to the root of the incident.
The IPC called on the Police to take adequate and swift measures to bring the officers who attacked the journalist to book while putting in place machinery to compensate Ojukwu for the 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,” IPC added.
In a related development, the Centre 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 Nigeria Railways Corporation, Kayode Opeifa and an editor with Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ladi Bala, following the disruption of rail services between Abuja and Kaduna due to the train derailment.
It said Bala explained how 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 circumstance 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 added.
The ICIR reported on Friday, August 29, that the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council, condemned the harassment, intimidation, and verbal abuse of Bala, a transport reporter with NTA, by the NRC boss, and demanded a public apology.