…NUJ, PDP, CSOs, others kick
The Correspondent of the Punch newspaper, Chidiebube Okeoma Monday evening narrowly escaped death when security men attached to the Imo State government abducted and brutalized him for interviewing street sweepers, who were protesting six months unpaid stipends.
The thugs and policemen, who attacked and abducted Okeoma, took him to the Governor’s Office where the Governor’s Chief Security Officer, Shabba Adamu interrogated him for daring to interview the protesting sweepers ‘without a permit’.
This is also as the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Imo State Council, led by Comrade Precious Nwadike, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the state have in strong and unmistakable terms condemned the abduction and brutality meted out on the newspaper’s correspondent.
A statement signed by the Caretaker Committee Chairman and Secretary of the Imo NUJ, Comrade Precious Nwadike and Comrade Austin Okoro respectively, regretted that Okeoma’s only offence was that he was seen at the scene of the protest, reporting the dehumanizing treatement of the 750 widows engaged to sweep streets of Owerri and some major roads.
The statement reads in part: “We had before now, raised the alarm over the frequent resort to violence and hostile self-help by agents of the Imo state government when dealing with journalists in the state. It appears that the deployment of such draconian measures to civil matters is beginning to take a frightening dimension.
“We therefore, call on the government of Imo State to release every gadget belonging to Okeoma and ensure that those involved in this dastardly act are brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others. We also demand that his medical bills are fully paid and a formal apology tendered to the innocent journalist .
“As a union, we shall not hesitate to take every legally permissible measure to enforce his rights to practise journalism in Imo State without fear. Journalists are not threats to our democracy. We promote democratic values and should always be seen as partners in progress rather than enemies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Wvdmgx0I8
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