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Attacks On The Media In May 2004
Policemen Beat up Journalist on Superior’s Order
Mr. Tajudeen Suleiman, The Punch newspapers Correspondent for Enugu State
was on May
4 pushed down a high staircase at the lobby of Enugu Appeal Court premises
by some police officers on the order of their superior.
Mr. Suleiman, along with other journalists, had gone to the court to cover
its proceedings for his medium. The court was to deliver judgment on an
election petition.
However, at the court premises, in spite having been accredited by the
police at the gate to cover the day’s proceedings, the journalists were
stopped at the entrance to the lobby and were not allowed into the court
on the excuse that the court was filled.
They pleaded to be allowed to observe the proceedings even if it was from
the lobby, hoping to be allowed into the court. All their pleas fell on
deaf ears with the policemen even threatening to push them down the
staircase if they did not leave.
The journalists after waiting without any good response decided to defy
the police order and enforce their rights to cover the court proceedings.
The divisional Police Officer in charge of New Haven Police Station, Mr.
Alex Madubuko who led his men to maintain order at the court ordered his
men to “push them, beat them, hit them”. Complying with his orders, the
officers, about ten of them, swooped on the journalists and in the process
pushed Tajudeen down the stairs following which he sprained his right
ankle.
He has petitioned the Enugu State Police Commissioner.
KAI Officials Destroy Newspapers Arrest Vendors
Men and officials of the Lagos State para-military outfit, Kick Against
Indiscipline (KAI) on May 8 at various Bus Stops in the State seized and
burnt newspapers and magazines displayed for sale and arrested the vendors
whom they accused of street hawking.
KAI officials, assisted by armed Mobile Policemen moved about in the
afternoon arresting the vendors and destroying their newspapers and
stands.
Some of the vendors who resisted the action of the Police and KAI
officials were brutalized and injured in the process
One of the victims, Mrs. Christiana Omoruyi, who sells newspapers at the
Cele Bust Stop along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway in Lagos said she had
more than N6,000 worth of newspapers, magazines on her newsstand which
were all burnt by the officials.
Another victim, Miss. Comfort Jacob said “the policemen who led the KAI
officials threatened us (vendors) with their horse whips and guns, while
the rest of the KAI officials had their tear gas and daggers, those who
were unlucky among us were arrested and taken to unknown place.”
NEPA Bars Journalists From Customers’ Forum
Journalists who went to cover a National Electric Power PLC (NEPA)
customers, consultative meeting which took place at the NUJ press centre
in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital on May 8 were prevented from covering
the event.
When the meeting started at about 1pm, journalists present were asked to
leave the venue amidst protest by the journalists who made it clear that
they were themselves NEPA customers.
Magazine Reporter Assaulted, Arrested And Detained
Miss Savannah Peters, a reporter with a Lagos-based news magazine, Island
News, was on May 17 reportedly assaulted, arrested and detained by men
from the 81 Division garrison, Dodan barracks in Ikoyi-Lagos. Her digital
camera was also seized.
Management of Island News stated that Miss Peters was sent to Keffi road,
a residential/business area in Ikoyi after it was alerted of the presence
in the street of a luxury bus filled with valuables. It said while there
on her assignment she was accosted by the soldiers under the command of
one Major P. Jackson who ordered her to be detained and her camera seized.
The management expressed its concern over the treatment meted out to Miss
Peters and the fact that hers was not the first incident to have happened
without perpetrators being brought to book in spite of their complaints.
It also observed that Island News being a community paper based in Lagos
Island, soldiers in barracks on the Islands put their staff under constant
threat of brutalization.
Two Journalists Arrested And Detained
Two journalists, Mr. Uba Aham of TheNews magazine and Mike Ubani of
Insider Weekly magazine were on the evening of May 20 arrested by
operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). They
were detained at the New Haven Police Station with hardened criminal over
night and then released the following morning without being charged. Some
documents were also confiscated from the Enugu office of TheNews.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Aham revealed that Thenews magazine Head
office in Lagos had sent him a document from a United States citizen
called Timothy Peterson who claimed to have been duped by some Nigerians
to the tune of about $7 Million. The documents, according to Uba, were
sent to the President of Nigeria, the Vice President and some other
government officials asking for their help to recover his money.
Uba said the documents gave names of Timothy’s alleged dupers and asked
Uba to help him investigate the matter. He said he asked his professional
colleague, Mike Ubani to assist him in the investigation. While
investigating, he said he wrote to the people whose names were mentioned
in the documents seeking their side of the matter.
He said some of the people threatened him asking him to hands off the
investigations while others offered money for them to drop the
investigation.
Uba said one of the named dupers, who used a front, a lady with the pseudo
name Mee-Mee, offered to give them her own side of the matter and asked
them to come for her story at a hotel she owns. He said they refused
asking her to meet them at the 33, Obiagu Road, Enugu office of TheNews
magazine.
Eventually, Mr Uba said they agreed to meet in front of the Enugu State
House of Assembly Residential Buildings.
While there in the evening of May 20 as agreed, Mee-Mee came, dropped an
envelop on Mike’s laps and walked away smiling, and immediately, men of
the EFCC appeared and arrested them. He said they were handcuffed. Mike
Ubani who tried to resist being arrested was manhandled and threatened
with being shot in the leg.
Mr. Aham said they were handcuffed and taken to New haven Police Station
where they were detained with hardened criminals. He said the inmates of
the cell where they were detained also assaulted them and took what they
had on them.
They were released the following day, May 21 without any charge. In
addition he said he was taken to his office which was ransacked and the
documents he was working on were confiscated and not returned.
Uba said when they asked what their offences were, the EFCC officials said
somebody accused them of being fake journalists.
Four Journalists Arrested, Tortured and Detained
On May 28, four journalists, Mr. Ogbonna Nwuke, publisher and
editor-in-chief of the Port Harcourt Telegraph; Mr. Minere Amakiri,
publisher and editor-in-chief of The Beacon; Mr. Nna Frank-Jack,
editor-in-chief of the Independent Monitor; and chief Livinus Kiebel,
editor of the Argus Newspapers were invited to the State Security Service
(SSS) Headquarters at Forces Avenue (Old GRA) Port Harcourt the Rivers
State capital. The SSS is the Nigerian secret service police.
According to a statement made available by the journalists Committee for
Media Rights and Democracy (JOCMERID), the journalists honoured the
invitation and arrived the SSS office at about 1.00pm and were
interrogated by the Director of the SSS.
But when the journalists left the Director’s office, on getting to the
ground floor they were intercepted by other SSS officials who subjected
them to humiliations, forcefully seized their cell phones and thereafter
detained without being accused of committing any crimes.
They were later released after being subjected to severe mental and
psychological tortures by the SSS.
JOCMERID reported that it learnt security operatives missed arresting both
Mr. Christian Opubo Inko - Tariah and Mr. Ebimo Amugo, Publishers and
Editors- in-chief of the Hardtruth and the Argus Newspapers respectively.
This group of Newspapers and their reporters had been subjected to several
forms of intimidations, arrests, detention and tortures by the Security
operatives on the orders of the Rivers State Government. They had
severally obtained questionable court orders to stop the papers from
reporting, but the papers had remained undaunted in the face of all these
odds.
JOCMERID recalled that the week preceding the arrests, the local papers
published the full text of a letter written by Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari,
president of the Ijaw youth council (IYC) entitled “Open letter to Rivers
People”. In the letter named a number of government officials of allegedly
empowering one Tom Ateke with automatic riffles, who operates a gangster
network in the state that has allegedly been killing, maiming, raping and
destroying the communities and people there, who expressed contrary views
against the government of Odili in Rivers State.
Newspaper Vendors Cry Out Over Incessant Arrest And Detention Of
Members
The Abia State chapter of Newspapers and Magazine Distributors Association
cried out over the incessant arrest and continued detention of their
members by the Police in Aba, Abia State.
The Chairman and Secretary of the Association, Messrs. Davidson Nwakuba
and Obike Onuegbu disclosed in a statement on May 30 that their members
were being arbitrarily arrested and detained by men and officers of the
Central Police Station in Aba. They were arrested for selling newspapers
and magazines that carried news about Biafra
Some of their members alleged to have been arrested include Mr. Geoffrey
Nwachukwu, Chukwueke Ekeoma and Mrs. Theresa Olubueze who were later
charged for unlawful assembly and refused bail.
The association revealed that the Police have declared total war on
distributors and vendors in Aba who sell newspapers and magazines carrying
news about Biafra.
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