The Nigeria Union of Journalists, Rivers State Council has condemned the assault and brutality meted on one of its members by a soldier last week.

The Council was reliably informed that Mr Anayo Onukwugha  who works with Leadership newspapers was assaulted and brutalized by a soldier believed to have been drafted from the presidency while covering the commissioning of the International wing of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa.

Onukwugha who is still receiving treatment from injuries sustained from the attack in a private hospital is critically ill and  in excruciating pain at the moment.

The union in a statement signed by the Secretary, Ike Wigodo  urged the head of the military to produce the perpetrator of the act and bring him to book to serve as deterrent.

He warned that  Impunity against Journalists must end in Rivers State, adding that the Union was still nursing the pains of one its members, Martins Giadom whose car was burnt and was almost lynched while covering December,10, 2016 rerun election in the state.

According to the statement, ” it is pertinent to note that the acts of violence against Journalists and the media is not only a crime but a serious threat to press freedom and by extension to democracy.

Wigodo in the statement, called on both the Federal and State Governments to be conscious of the fact that, Journalists as professionals whose responsibility it is to monitor governance and hold Government accountable to the masses and as well to educate and enlighten society, should be given the needed protection during the discharge of their duties to guard against such unwarranted molestations.