Two journalists, Timothy Agbor of The Point newspaper and Toba Adedeji of the Osun Defender were on September 11, 2017 brutalised by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) while covering a protest by members of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) at the Osun State House of Assembly.
While taking photographs of the NULGE protest while yet on the Gbongan-Osogbo Road on the way to the Osun State House of Assembly, female operative of the DSS, dressed in a black polo shirt, accosted Timothy and demanded to know his mission. He informed the lady he was a journalist and then demanded her identity.
Timothy’s demand of the lady’s identity angered her and she threatened to slap him. Thinking she was bluffing, Timothy made a joke of the threat and she descended on him with a rain of slaps and the journalist retaliated.
This attracted another DSS operative and the two of them began to pummel him. Several kicks on Adedeji pushed him into a drainage channel. Timothy sustained a swollen face and some bruises on his face from the assault.
After Timothy was rescued by NULGE officials, they made further attempt to assault him and he fled. When the security operatives saw him making calls, they returned, seized his mobile phone handset which they smashed on the road.
When Timothy, accompanied by the Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Correspondent Chapel, Hammed Oyegbade; and Secretary, Niyi Ajibola reported the matter at the DSS office, they accused him of attacking a lady.
Secretary to the Osun State Correspondent Chapel of the NUJ, Mr. Olaniyi Ajibola disclosed that on September 12, the DSS sent the sum of N40,000.00 as compensation to Timothy which that the NUJ Chapel rejected and returned.
