The Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tunji Disu, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command to order an immediate and transparent investigation into a violent physical assault unleashed on Mr. Sunday Michael Ogwu, Editor of Pinnacle Daily, by officers of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja on August 19, 2026, to identify, arrest, and discipline the police officers involved.
In a statement issued on August 20, 2026, the coalition of media and civil society organizations which works to defend democracy and good governance by fighting for free speech, protecting journalists, and safeguarding people who report corruption, strongly condemned the assault, harassment, unlawful seizure, and destruction of working tools belonging to Mr. Ogwu by Police officers, supervised and led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Lugbe Police Division and members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN).
The Coalition, which includes Media Rights Agenda (MRA), is also calling on Police authorities to provide full compensation to Mr Ogwu for his damaged mobile phone and cover all medical expenses incurred due to the physical assault.
According to a personal account shared with the coalition, on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, at about 5:30 PM, Mr Ogwu was taking a stroll around the Lugbe Federal Housing Estate area in Abuja when he encountered a joint demolition exercise involving about four Hilux patrol vans bearing the inscription “Lugbe Police Division” alongside VGN members identifiable by their brown outfits and logos.
He said that upon bringing out his mobile phone to document the exercise, a police officer forcibly snatched the device without warning and despite repeatedly identifying himself as a journalist and attempting to speak with the team leader, the police officers surrounded him, arrested local youths, and demanded that Mr Ogwu also get into a patrol van.
According to him, when he refused on the grounds that he was a journalist and not a criminal, the police officers flogged him with an electric cable on the instruction of the officer in charge for non-compliance.
After his phone was returned and he was told to leave, Mr Ogwu walked approximately 100 metres away to record a video documenting the assault and send a distress message to his media organisation. Noticing that he was recording again, the police officers ran after him, dragged him back to the demolition site, and subjected him to a second round of flogging on the explicit order of the officer in charge, who declared that the first beating “was not enough”.
The violent assault resulted in physical injury and severe damage to his phone before intervening passersby urged him to leave for his safety.
The Coalition said it found the unprovoked brutality and lawlessness of operatives of the Lugbe Police Division deeply unsettling and unacceptable, adding that “Documenting public operations conducted by state agents is a constitutionally protected right, not a criminal offence.”
It described as “worrisome” the fact 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 Coalition noted that 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.
Insisting that journalism is not a crime and that the duty of the press to hold public institutions accountable is guaranteed by the Constitution, it called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, and the FCT Police Command to:
• Order an immediate, transparent investigation into the incident to identify, arrest, and discipline the police officers and VGN personnel involved in the assault on Mr. Ogwu.
• 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 Mr. Ogwu and the management of Pinnacle Daily for the unlawful attack and destruction of property.
• Direct all police divisions across the FCT to immediately cease the intimidation, harassment, and physical assault of journalists covering public events.
The Coalition reiterated its commitment to ensuring a free and safe environment for journalists to discharge their constitutional duties without any fear of retaliation, intimidation or harassment.
The statement was signed by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Premium Times, Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation, Daily Trust newspaper, International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), Civic Media Lab, Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), International Press Centre (IPC), International Press Institute (IPI), and Media Rights Agenda.
Other signatories are 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 in Kano, Citizens Gavel Foundation for Social Justice, Hope Behind Bars Africa, Digicivic Initiative, Pinnacle Daily, and Gatefield.
