As the #endbadgovernance protests enter the seventh day, the International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos has strongly condemned the assault on the News Central reporters and camera men by suspected thugs at Freedom Park, Ojota on Tuesday while reporting the protests.
Melody Akinjiyan, Press Freedom Officer, IPC, made the condemnation in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement said : “Information gathered by IPC’s journalists’ safety alert situation room revealed that there were a handful of police men nearby but they did not lift a finger to stop them when the thugs arrived and assaulted the press crew.
“The thugs who were more than ten (10), attacked the crew of News Central Television, who went to the venue to monitor the situation.
“When the News Central crew arrived, police directed them to leave the park.
“They relocated to a distant location to continue their live broadcast.
“During the broadcast, the journalists were confronted by the hoodlums’ wielding sticks and shovels.
“The thugs assaulted several reporters and forced them to flee, Daily Report published.”
The Press Freedom Officer, IPC said this incident and many others recorded since the nationwide protests started raises concerns about press freedom and safety of journalists during protests and coverage of societal events.
Report published on Pulse.ng stated that, “the Commissioner of Police @LagosPoliceNG, CP Adegoke Fayoade, has ordered an immediate investigation into this incident.
“He mandated the investigating team to fish out the miscreants and ensure their prosecution accordingly.
“He gave this directive yesterday when the crew involved, led by News Central MD, @KayodeAkintemi, submitted an official complaint letter at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja.”
Akinjiyan said : “IPC is therefore again calling on the security agencies, in particular the Commissioner of Police of Lagos State, to fulfill his pledge to go after the thugs who assaulted the journalists and interrogate the policemen who looked the other way while journalists were being attacked.”
(vitalnewsngr.com)
