NUJ Demands Arrest of Hoodlums Who Attacked Journalist in Port Harcourt, Compensation for Victim

The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council has called on the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to apprehend and prosecute the hoodlums that assaulted one of its members, a journalist working with Naija FM, Beat FM and Classic FM, Port Harcourt, Allwell Ene, in Port, Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

The Union made this call via a statement on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 signed by its Rivers State Council Chairman and Secretary, Paul Bazia-Nsaneh and Dr Ijeoma Tubosia, respectively.

It disclosed that the assault on Mr. Ene occurred on Monday, April 13, 2026, at Garrison Junction, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, calling on the State Police Command to effect immediate and necessary action to alleviate the trauma he went through.

The union noted that Ene was carrying out a legitimate assignment of news gathering when he was attacked, brutally molested and left with multiple lacerations and swollen eyes while the hoodlums removed and destroyed his phone before bundling him into an unknown place, before he was rescued.

“The NUJ is disheartened over the ugly incident, adding that rather than treat journalists as partners in nation building, members of society have in most cases consistently treated journalists as enemies who must be crushed.”

“It is unacceptable that in a civilized society, a journalist will be attacked while doing his job. It is a clear case of violation of the rights of the journalist,” the statement added.

The NUJ however, called on the government and State Police Command to bring the perpetrators of the act to book, stating that they should adequately compensate Mr. Ene for the brutalization meted on him while putting up machinery to prevent future incidences.