Thousands of Nigerians took to the streets on Thursday morning, joining a nationwide protest that swept across major cities and the Federal Capital Territory.

On Thursday, the first day of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests, at least 12 journalists and media professionals fell victim to police brutality or attacks by hoodlums reportedly sponsored by the government.

As reported by SaharaReporters, the nationwide demonstrations kicked off in major cities across Nigeria, marking the beginning of a 10-day protest scheduled for August.

The protests aim to condemn the hardships and challenges exacerbated by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with citizens taking to the streets to express their discontent.

Thousands of Nigerians took to the streets on Thursday morning, joining a nationwide protest that swept across major cities and the Federal Capital Territory. Protesters, armed with placards and banners, decried the country’s worsening conditions, including economic hardship, soaring inflation, poor governance, and rampant insecurity.

However, the demonstrations were marred by reports of police brutality, with several journalists and media professionals facing arrest, physical assault, harassment, and obstruction while attempting to cover the protests.

In Abuja, Daily Independent photojournalist Jide Oyekunle was unlawfully arrested and had his mobile phone confiscated by police officers while carrying out his constitutional right to report on the protests. In an interview with SaharaReporters,

Oyekunle revealed that his arrest was directly ordered by FCT Police Commissioner Benneth Igweh, highlighting a disturbing infringement on press freedom.

“It was very terrible incident. The protest was peaceful and the protesters conducted themselves in a very peaceful manner. Right from the national stadium, the FCT Police Commissioner came there and asked them to enter the stadium.

The protesters said no, they would not enter the stadium. The protesters later left the national stadium for Eagle Square and we, the journalists, followed them.

“At Eagle Square, the police had already laid ambush where they fired tear gas on the protesters. Some of the journalists actually mingled with the police to avoid being hit by a stray bullet and we were doing our job. But they started firing tear gas on the orders of the commissioner and he asked his men to arrest me and seize my phone.”

“What happened today is an indication that the Nigerian government is very hostile, and they are making the media environment to be suffocating, toxic and dangerous. It is very hard to operate. This is because when the police can descend on the media who are carrying out their constitutional duty, I think this is the height of impunity. This is because if democracy is all about transparency and good governance, then press freedom should not be denied,” Jide added.

Olukayode Jayeola, a photojournalist with The PUNCH Newspaper, was also arrested by police while covering the protest at Eagle Square in Abuja.

Amidst the demonstrations against Nigeria’s deteriorating economic situation, police fired teargas at protesters in the capital city on Thursday.

Jayeola revealed to SaharaReporters that his camera, phones, including an M11, and other personal belongings were confiscated by security operatives. He expressed outrage at being treated like a criminal, along with four other protesters, despite simply doing his job as a journalist.

He said, “My name is Olukayode Jayeola, I work with The Punch Newspaper as a photojournalist. I got to the Eagle Square at about 7:50am thereabouts and I went about doing my work. The security operatives were trying to pull the protesters together from the National Stadium.

“They walk from National Stadium to the Eagle’s Square, so, on getting to the Eagle’s Square, they didn’t allow them to have access to the place and also dispersed the protesters with tear gas.

“I just saw some of the officers coming behind me and they picked me up, they said I was going to their office. They collected my camera; my phones and one M11 was also collected from me.

“I tried to identify myself that I’m a journalist, I brought out my identification card, to identify myself. I’m even with a bulletproof vest with press written on it, to identify me as a journalist and everything, but they refused.

“They packed me with other protesters and told me to sit down on the ground and started treating me as if I’m a criminal or something. So from there, I was transferred to the police command.

“Here, I was informed that my gadgets are with the NSA, that I should go to the NSA office and pick up my gadgets.”

According to Josephine Adeh, spokesperson for the police command, Kayode was initially arrested by the National Security Agency (NSA) before being handed over to the police.

Meanwhile, several other journalists faced harassment and assault while covering the protests. In Lagos, Benard Akede of News Central Television was interrupted and barred from conducting live interviews by police officers and LCC officials.

In Kano, Ibrahim Isah of TVC News was physically attacked by armed hoodlums, sustaining hand injuries. In Abuja, Yakubu Mohammed of Premium Times was brutally assaulted by police officers, who struck him with gun butts and batons, causing head injuries.

“I was filming the violent moment when the police were tear-gassing the protesters and the latter also hurling back the canisters,” Mr Yakubu, a conflict reporter told SaharaReporters during a WhatsApp conversation.

He continued: “Suddenly, the officers started arresting protesters and in the process attacked me despite being in my press jacket.

“Despite explaining that I am a pressman, they brutalised me, hit me with gun butts on my head and shoulder until they seized my phone. I was then hurled into a police van where I met other four arrested persons.”

“I was released a few minutes later after a fellow journalist whom I couldn’t recognise intervened,” he added.

Mary Adeboye, a journalist with News Central Television, was exposed to teargas fired by police officers while reporting on the protest in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In a separate incident, Jonathan Ugbal of Cross River Watch was arrested, beaten, and detained by police in Calabar before being released. Ugbal was beaten, handcuffed and taken to an undisclosed location, raising concerns about his safety and well-being during the ordeal.

In Delta State, some journalists came under attack by counter-protesters, allegedly supporting the government, while covering the demonstration. Prince Amour Udemude, an investigative journalist, Matthew Ochei of Punch Newspaper, Monday Osayande of Guardian Newspaper, and Lucy, a reporter with Pointer, were assaulted and had their equipment destroyed.

The incident occurred while the journalists were taking photos and conducting interviews, and security agencies were present at the scene.

As the anti-protest thugs attacked a demonstrator, their leader spotted Amour documenting the incident and seized him by his jeans, triggering a violent response from other thugs who joined in, manhandling the investigative journalist and demanding he surrender his phone.

The situation rapidly deteriorated as more thugs arrived, physically assaulting the Asaba correspondents of The Punch and Guardian newspapers, Matthew Ochei and Monday Osayande, respectively.

Despite the escalating violence, heavily armed police personnel from the Delta State Police Command in Asaba remained passive bystanders, failing to intervene. However, just as the situation threatened to spiral out of control, an Army officer stepped in, bravely rescuing Amour and two other journalists from the clutches of the thugs and escorting them to safety, away from the chaotic scene.

Sources reveal that the Delta state government had allegedly bribed various groups, including youth organisations, student unions, and religious bodies, to dissuade them from joining the protest and to prevent demonstrators from taking action statewide. Meanwhile, attempts to retrieve Amour’s phone from the thugs have so far been unsuccessful, as of the time of this report.

In a similar incident, hoodlums in Calabar, Cross River State, attacked journalists, leaving Nigerian Tribune reporter Joseph Abasi-Abasi with severe injuries.

The assailants targeted a bus belonging to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), which was carrying food supplies to the Ernest Etim Press Centre.

Additionally, a Channels Television vehicle transporting eleven journalists, including TVC News Correspondent Ibrahim Isah, was vandalised, leaving the onboard journalists traumatised by the ordeal.

IPC Condemns Attacks

Melody Akinjiyan, Press Freedom Officer at the International Press Centre, condemned the attacks on journalists in a statement released late Thursday, characterizing them as a distressing recurrence of past events. She emphasized that journalists carrying out their constitutional duties should never be targeted by law enforcement agencies or government-sponsored thugs, under any circumstances.

“It is regrettable that the incidents were recorded despite calls by IPC and other media groups on stakeholders and security agencies to ensure a safe environment for journalists covering the protests,” she said.

She continued: “The rights of journalists to cover and report protests and other societal activities as guaranteed by the 1999 Nigeria Constitution and various regulatory frameworks have not been respected as expected.”

Akinjiyan further urged all relevant security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Police Force, to conduct a thorough investigation into the attacks and ensure that those responsible are held accountable and brought to justice.

Lawyer Calls For End To Harassment Of Journalists

Renowned human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), condemned the attacks on journalists by Nigerian security operatives during the protests, characterizing them as ‘unfortunate’ and a blatant disruption of press freedom in the country, in an interview with SaharaReporters.

He said, “Press freedom is essential for the effective practice of democracy. To that extent, journalists should be allowed the freedom to practice their profession without threats or hindrance. Section 21 of our constitution places a sacred responsibility on journalists to hold government accountable to the people and section 39 grants the right to press freedom. In that regard, the police and the law enforcement agencies must respect the law and press freedom as guaranteed under the constitution.

“No journalist should be arrested for doing his job by holding the government accountable. So if there is any of them that has been arrested, I demand for their immediate release and unconditional release. And there should be no persecution of journalists, as a way of intimidating them from reporting the protest events to the people of Nigeria.”

Therefore, Adegboruwa called on the government of President Bola Tinubu to put an end to the harassment and intimidation of journalists in Nigeria, ensuring a safe and free environment for them to carry out their duties.

He continued: “So I call upon the IGP to direct all his officers to release any journalist that has been arrested during the course of this protest. I also called upon the President who is also a stakeholder, and media owner, to offer protection for the media and journalists to practice their trade.”

Credits: SaharaReporters