By Tosin Omoniyi

Journalists under the auspices of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, in Nassarawa State have condemned the recent assault on the Daily Trust reporter in the state, Joseph Hir.

The journalists who issued a press statement in Lafia Monday also called on the governor to ensure the arrest of those who brutalized the reporter whom they said was only carrying out his duties.

The correspondents noted that despite the glaring proof of the assault, it was sad that the governor through his chief press secretary, Yakubu Lamai, denied that the reporter was beaten but said he was rather involved in a scuffle with the thugs.

They said that such occurrences were becoming rampant in the state and asked the state government to ensure the safety of journalists practicing in the state.

The statement which signed by the chairman of the chapel, Suleiman Abubakar, also called for “responsive action from the state government and the APC”, just as it urged security agencies to apprehend and prosecute the thugs over the alleged criminality.

“If Hir Joseph was not ‘slapped or anything akin to beating’ as Lamai had alleged, why and how did he end up in the hospital in an ambulance?,” the journalists wondered.

“The Congress therefore calls on the state government to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted in view of the much needed cordial relationship with the press in order to foster the rapid development of the state. We cannot wait to be killed in the discharge of our constitutional editorial responsibilities,” the group noted.

Hir was beaten up during the inauguration ceremony of the governor of Nassarawa State, Tanko al-Makura by thugs suspected to be loyal to the governor and the All Progressive Congress, APC.