It would appear as though Nigerian journalists have become the targets of the 10-day planned protest against bad governance in the country.
Government security agents in many states assaulted, handcuffed, and detained numerous journalists on the first day of the protest, Thursday, August 1, 2024.
BORNO STATE
For instance, in Borno State, police officers stormed the head office of Radio Ndarason Internationale and arrested the staff members on duty for covering the nationwide protest.
According to a statement by the Media House, the Editor in Chief, Mamman Mahmud, head of programs, and the office director were among those arrested.
“The arrest came after a visit to RNI this morning by the Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security.”
The police are currently detaining RNI staff members at Maiduguri police headquarters.
“RNI staff were arrested as they were doing their jobs as journalists: reporting on the current protests throughout the country.
“The directors of RNI demand the immediate release of RNI staff, and deeply regret attempts by the security services to intimidate professional journalists working to provide the people of the Lake Chad region with objective and factual information,” it read.
However, State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Prof. Usman Tar, denied arresting journalists in the state.
“We didn’t arrest anyone, but we only warned them because they were sharing some information that was not correct.”
CROSS RIVER
In Cross River State, some journalists and activists were manhandled, handcuffed, and taken to undisclosed destinations.
Mr. Jonathan Ugbal, the managing editor of Cross RiverWatch, a state online newspaper, was one of the known journalists arrested.
Security staff dragged them into waiting buses and SUVs.
The journalists had followed some activists around the popular Mary Slessor circle in Calabar, where a handful of them had gathered to mark the first day of the 10-day planned protest against alleged bad governance.
Names of other activists arrested were not immediately known.
Before his arrest and torture, Ugbal had posted a video in the morning that showed that the surrounding roads to the Mary Slessor roundabout had been deserted.
He had made other commentaries about governance in the state.
Barrister James Ibor, a human rights activist, reacted by saying that the arrest and torture of the activists
and journalists was condemnable and reprehensible.
He alleged that the security agents who tortured the journalists came in four vehicles and were heavily armed.
“We challenged the authorities to produce any evidence that Ugbal and others were violent.
“I strongly suspect that the security agents are those who are attached to the state governor, Senator Bassey Otu.
“But we know that Giv Otu, being a people-centric leader, cannot allow his agents to be this brutal.”
“This is very sad. It is a disappointment, and we call on Gov. Otu to order the release of these journalists and activists whom I believe strongly are in government custody.”
NIGER STATE
Meanwhile, in Niger State, two people were killed while four others were injured following a gunshot allegedly fired by the police during the protest in Suleja town.
The deceased, identified as Yahaya Nda Isa, a carpenter, and Musa Abubakar, a commercial motorcyclist, lost their lives around church junction, along the Hassan Dallatu road Suleja.
They were shot when the protesters were heading towards a junction that leads to the “A” police division, Suleja.
Around 11 a.m., witnesses reported hearing gunshots from the police division’s location in the town’s central area.
A witness told journalists that the protesters had previously protested around the Suleja Emir roundabout and were heading to the local government secretariat.
“A stray bullet struck Yahaya Nda Isa, the deceased, in the head, as well as Musa Abubakar, another victim, around his abdomen.
According to a witness, Nazir Shuaibu and Isa were standing near the church junction, a few meters from the gunshot scene.
He was rushed to the nearby Royal hospital, where he was declared dead by the doctor on duty. During his visit to the hospital, our reporter witnessed another victim, Sa’adu Ali, a commercial motorcyclist, also struck by the stray bullet.
According to a nurse who was treating the victim, the bullet hit him around the upper part of his abdomen and got out at the lower part.
The divisional police officer in charge of Suleja “A,” who refused to mention his name, denied knowledge of any losses or injuries in the incident.
He, however, accused the protesters of attempting to break into the facility.
He accused an earlier group of protesters of vandalising the civil defence office in the town during Thursday’s protest.
YOBE STATE
The Yobe State Government has declared a
A 24-hour curfew has been declared by the Yobe State on parts of the state such as Potiskum, Gashua, and Nguru Local Government Areas in order to contain the security situations in the areas.
In a statement signed by the Special Advisor to the Yobe State Governor on Security Matters, Brigadier General, Dahiru Abdulsalam (rtd), he said it became necessary after some hoodlums took advantage of the protest to vandalise and loot government and private properties.
“The Yobe State Government has considered the security situation in Potiskum, Gashua, and Nguru towns, where some hoodlums are taking advantage of the protest to vandalise and loot government and private properties.
“In light of the above, the state government has imposed a 24-hour curfew in Potiskum, Gashua, and Nguru.”
“The public is hereby advised to abide by the curfew order and stay at home for peace to reign in these areas and the state at large.
“The security agencies have been directed to ensure enforcement and full compliance of the curfew order, he added.
Meanwhile, Governor Mai Mala Buni has commended the people of the state, especially the youth who do not join the nationwide protest, as the state is emerging out of a protracted security challenge.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Director General of Press and Media Affairs to the Governor, Mamman Muhammad, made available to journalists.
“I am happy we are working on the same page; we clearly understand our situation; the state is just picking its pieces, and we cannot afford to accommodate anything, including protests to draw us backwards.
“The good people of Yobe and especially our vibrant youth have shown great love, concern, and patriotism to the state by adhering to calls against joining the protest,” he said.
The governor assured that the state government would expand its policies and programmes to promote economic recovery and growth, and to accommodate large coverage of beneficiaries.
