Nume Ekeghe
An editor with Nigerian online newspaper, Pinnacle Daily, Sunday Michael Ogwu, was beaten and had his phone seized by police officers attached to the Lugbe Police Station in Abuja while documenting a demolition exercise in the area.
Ogwu said the incident occurred during an evening stroll when he came across what appeared to be a joint operation involving police officers and members of a vigilante group. He began documenting the exercise when the officers confronted him.
In a voice recording obtained by The ICIR on Wednesday, Ogwu said the officers seized his phone and ordered some of their colleagues to beat him.
“I was badly beaten. Eventually, they said they would take me to the station, and then they asked me to leave,” he said.
Ogwu said he later documented the incident and shared it on social media, after which the officers sent people after him. He said his phone was eventually seized.
He also said he identified the police officers involved after seeing “Lugbe Police Station” written on one of the pickup vans used during the operation.
“I saw Lugbe Police Station written on the van of one of the pickups that they came out for the special operation with. I asked them repeatedly to tell me who was the leader of that operation, but they refused,” he said.
In another video posted on his Facebook page, Ogwu said the officers questioned him over whether he had obtained permission to cover the exercise.
He said he told the officers that he did not require permission to document what he considered a public function.
“I told them this is a public function and I don’t think what you are doing is illegal. If you’re carrying out proper work, you shouldn’t be afraid a journalist is covering it. Instead, I was given several strokes and was asked to leave,” he said.