A journalist working with Silverbird Television, STV, John Alabi, has narrated how he was alledgedly brutalised by some police officers at Moniya area of Oyo State.
The STV Oyo State correspondent in a statement to his colleagues noted that he was brutalised while carrying out his professional duty.
Read his statement here
My ordeal during an incident that broke up on Tuesday, 25th April, 2023 at Moniya, Ibadan.
I was at Akinyele local government in the morning on the said date, where I had a schedule assignment to cover for my organization.
As a journalist, I got to the venue ahead of commencement of the assignment as expected, unfortunately while waiting for the organizers, I got wind of an information that there was a public disorder around the Akinyele local government.
As expected of a professional journalist, I tried to know what the matter was and I was taking few shots. Immediately, I saw about five police officers who approached and haraassed me, hitting me with gun bottom, despite calling their attention to the fact that I am a journalist.
I showed them my identity as a journalist and other evidence that I’m a newsman, but they turned deaf ear, arrested me and detained me at Akinyele police from around 10:45 in the morning till 4:30 in the evening.
It took the intervention of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Oyo State council before I was released.
Before I dropped the picture on Oyo NUJ platform some of them said I will be lock up at the State CID Iyanganku and I will pay for a crime I did not commit that was prior to the picture I dropped on Oyo NUJ platfom.
I am now home safely …thanks to everyone.
