The Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) on Thursday called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command to investigate the assault on the Editor of Pinnacle Daily, Sunday Ogwu, by police officers in Lugbe, Abuja.
The coalition, in a statement on Thursday, described the attack on Mr Ogwu as “unprovoked brutality” and “lawlessness” by operatives of the Lugbe Police Division led by a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Uchenna.
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The statement signed by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) on behalf of the coalition, also called the development “deeply unsettling and unacceptable.”
“Documenting public operations conducted by state agents is a constitutionally protected right, not a criminal offence. It is therefore worrisome that police officers, duty-bound to enforce law and order, would resort to using electric cables to torture a journalist for performing his civic and professional duties,” the statement said.
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This followed a report confirming that police officers attached to the police division in Lugbe, a town less than 20 minutes drive from Abuja city centre, flogged Mr Ogwu and damaged his phone for documenting a joint demolition exercise.
The assault
Mr Ogwu, who recounted the traumatic experience, said he encountered the demolition exercise while taking an evening stroll in the Lugbe area of Abuja.
“The operation involved about four Hilux patrol vans bearing the inscription ‘Lugbe Police Division alongside Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) members identifiable by their brown outfits and logos,” the coalition’s statement said.
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Mr Ogwu reportedly pulled out his phone to record the scene. However, a police officer snatched his phone despite Mr Ogwu identifying himself as a journalist.
Thereafter, the officers attempted to arrest him alongside local youths. When he resisted, insisting he was a journalist, the officers flogged him with an electric cable “on the instruction of the officer in charge for non-compliance.”
After this, the police released Mr Ogwu, but again flogged him and damaged his phone when he tried to record the incident 100 metres away from the initial scene.
Justifying their second round of flogging, the officer in charge said the first flogging was not enough. This resulted in physical damage.
Call for investigation
The coalition, an assembly of members spanning accountability journalism organisations, including PREMIUM TIMES, and civil society groups concerned with media freedom and promoting democratic values, said the attack on Mr Ogwu was a blow to the credibility of police leadership.
It said “the unlawful attack on Mr Ogwu by CSP Uchenna and his team severely damages Nigeria’s standing on the global press freedom index and contradicts public assurances by police leadership regarding respect for human rights and press freedom.”
“We reiterate firmly that journalism is not a crime and that the duty of the press to hold public institutions accountable is guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution,” the coalition said.
The group condemned “violent physical assault, harassment, unlawful seizure, and destruction of working tools of Sunday Ogwu, Editor of Pinnacle Daily, by officers of the Nigeria Police Force, supervised and led by the DPO of the Lugbe Police Division and members of the VGN.”
Demands
The coalition demanded compensation on Mr Ogwu’s behalf.
“Provide full compensation to Mr Ogwu for his damaged mobile phone and cover all medical expenses incurred due to the physical assault. Issue a formal public apology to Sunday Michael Ogwu and the management of Pinnacle Daily for the unlawful attack and destruction of property,” the statement said.
“This unlawful attack on Mr Ogwu by CSP Uchenna and his team severely damages Nigeria’s standing on the global press freedom index and contradicts public assurances by police leadership regarding respect for human rights and press freedom.”
This recent event represents another major setback for media independence in Nigeria. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Nigeria ranked 112th in the World Press Freedom Index, with a global score of 46.81.
It also adds to the growing list of harassment the police have meted out on journalists.
On 3 July, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Stanley Ugabe, a journalist with the online news platform Secrets Reporters, was abducted from his residence in the Jikwoyi area of Abuja, for an investigation published by his organisation.
CJID’s Press Attack Tracker (PAT West Africa) also documented a series of press attacks under Mr Egbetokun’s administration, including over 45 journalists who have been attacked and unlawfully detained.
In April, the IGP, Mr Disu, expressed commitment to putting an end to impunity, especially by police officers, in Nigeria. A month later, the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Ahmed Sanusi, also pledged the police’s commitment to upholding human rights.
Yet, this recent incident makes a mockery of this pledge.
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As a result, the coalition demanded that “all police divisions across the FCT immediately cease the intimidation, harassment, and physical assault of journalists covering public events.”
The CWPPF is made of 33 organisations including Premium Times, Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation, Daily Trust Newspaper, ICIR, Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), CJID, African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), Civic Media Lab, Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC) and International Press Centre (IPC).
Others include, International Press Institute (IPI-Nigria Chapter), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Paradigm Initiative, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), HEDA Resources Centre, WikkiTimes, Global Rights, Dataphyte Foundation, Accountability Lab Nigeria, FOLEGAL, Women Radio 91.7 FM, Inibehe Effiong Chambers, BUK TV & RADIO, The Jurist Newspaper Limited, Freedom Radio, Kano, Citizens Gavel Foundation for Social Justice, Hope Behind Bars Africa, Digicivic Initiative, Pinnacle Daily, Gatefield, DigiCivic Initiative and Enough is Enough (EIE)
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