Pinnacle Daily Editor Mr Sunday Michael Ogwu was attacked on Wednesday evening by police officers from the Lugbe Division in Abuja.
Narrating his ordeal to a Pinnacle Daily reporter, Mr Ogwu said he was coming back from exercise after returning from the day’s work and stumbled on a demolition exercise being carried out by Lugbe Police Division officers in collaboration with local vigilante men at the new site gate of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Lugbe, and tried to capture the scene.
He said the officers, who were removing illegal structures in the area, descended on him with the vigilante officers, beat him up and immediately seized his phone.
“I went out this evening for exercise and stumbled on a demolition exercise by the Lugbe Police Station. I think it is a joint operation between them and members of the vigilante group. “They seized my phone and eventually ordered some of the officers to beat me up,” Mr Ogwu stated.
Speaking further, Mr Ogwu said he was forced to delete videos he made at the scene by the officers who argued that he had no permission to record the scene.
He responded to the officers that journalists needed no permission to cover such an event since it was a public function.
According to the editor, while some of the officers were forcing him to enter one of the police vans and follow them to the station, another senior officer asked them not to do so since he is a journalist but to beat him and let him go.
“I was given several strokes with an electric cable on the instruction of a senior officer leading the patrol team.” I was given about 10 strokes before I was asked to leave,” he stated.
He said after the beating, the officers gave him back his phone and asked him to leave the area.
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While leaving, he made a live video, some distance away from them, narrating the brutality by the police officers, who again came after him.
“They noticed that I was doing that video; they came back and said I had videoed them after they had forced me to delete the first video. So I said, What you did to me was wrong; you treated me like a criminal. So they said the DPO said they should bring me back.”
Upon returning to the scene with the officers, he was given another round of beating with an electric cable, and his phone got damaged in the process.
A video shared on his social media handle showed bruises on his back sustained during the beating by the police and his phone, which got damaged as well.
Mr Ogwu, who insisted that covering a police demolition exercise done in full public glare is not a crime, said instead of taking him to whoever they said ordered his arrest, the officers asked him to go after beating him up like a criminal.
He said the incident highlights unending police brutality, harassment and intimidation of harmless citizens and journalists carrying out their jobs across the country.
Abuja tops journalist attacks under Tinubu
The incident comes against the backdrop of persistent concerns over attacks and harassment of journalists in Nigeria.
In May, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) documented at least 91 journalists who had been arrested, physically attacked or harassed across Nigeria since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023.
The CPJ data showed that the Federal Capital Territory recorded the highest number of incidents, with 30 journalists targeted during the period.
Six journalists were arrested, and 22 were physically attacked, while three were harassed in Abuja, according to the organisation.
Three ICIR journalists — Mustapha Usman, Nurudeen Akewushola and Johnson Fatunmbi — were among those the CPJ listed as having been physically attacked.
The CPJ report also identified Lagos, Kano and Borno among states where journalists faced significant attacks and arrests during the period.
Kano recorded 13 physical attacks on journalists, the highest number of such incidents outside the FCT, while Borno recorded nine arrests.
The organisation said its findings contradicted comments by Vice President Kashim Shettima, who had suggested in February that journalists had not been harassed since Tinubu assumed office.
The FCT police public relations officer, SP Josephine has invited the Editor for further investigation
Victor Ezeja is a Nigerian journalist skilled in producing insightful news analyses, feature stories, and interviews that simplify complex issues and drive informed public discourse. His work combines rigorous research, balanced reporting, and compelling storytelling to highlight developments shaping industries and society. Victor, who holds a Master's Degree in Mass Communication, specializes in energy, aviation, business, and economic reporting. He can be reached via @VICTOREZEJA on X