Protest: Attacked Journalist Accuses FCT Police Comm Of Seizing His Gadgets
The FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Benedict Igwe, has been accused of the forceful seizure of the working tools of one of the journalists attacked during the first day of the nationwide protest in Abuja, Jide Oyekunle.
Osun Defender reports that journalists covering the ongoing nationwide protests were reportedly attacked by the police on Thursday in Abuja.
A viral video on social media captured the moment Jide Oyekunle was picked up by operatives of the FCT Police Command.
Condemning the development, the International Press Centre, IPC stated that some of the affected journalists were injured or arrested, and had their working tools damaged.
READ: #EndBadGovernance: We Were Given N5,000 To Disrupt Abuja Protest – Keke Rider Confesses (Video)
However, SP Josephine Adeh, the Public Relations Officer of the FCT Police Command, told DAILY POST that the report was false.
But speaking after his release in a now trending video, Oyekunle, who is the FCT Correspondents’ Chapel Chairman and a photojournalist with Daily Independent, stated that the CP ordered his arrest and collected his phone from him.
He said, “The Commissioner of Police, Benedict Igwe, right in my very presence, ordered my arrest, personally collected my phone from me, and went away with it. As I’m speaking to you now, he is still with my phone.”
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
