the Journalists Union of Nigeria (NUJ)Akwa Ibom State Council, has condemned an alleged attack on a journalist in the state by a police officer, Ezra Yuguda.
Mr. Yuguda, Deputy Superintendent of Police, is the Commander of Government House, Uyo.
The officer reportedly assaulted journalist Harrison Essien, who works with the state radio station AKBC-Radio, while he (Essien) was covering the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) primaries in the state.
The incident occurred on May 22, at the PDP State Secretariat in Uyo.
The PDP accredited Mr. Essien to cover its state and National Assembly primaries.
The journalist told PREMIUM TIMES, on Sunday, the officer slapped him across the face and knocked him to the ground.
He said that the officer ordered everyone out of the party secretariat around 10 am and started to take people out.
The officer allegedly assaulted him when he showed him his press ID card and was trying to explain that he was accredited to cover the primaries, Essien said.
Two other journalists carried him from the ground and helped him into a car after the incident, he said.
The NUJ, in a statement issued on June 3 after its Congress, demanded an apology and the removal of Yuguda from Akwa Ibom Government House.
The statement was signed by NUJ State President Amos Etuk and Secretary Dominic Akpan, among other journalists.
The NUJ has also submitted a petition to the Police Commissioner in the state, demanding compensation for the assaulted journalist.
Police spokesman in the state, Odiko Macdon, said he was not aware of the incident.
Mr. Macdon requested the release our reporter sent him, however, he did not respond to further calls at the time of this report.
Mr. Yuguda was involved in a similar incident in May 2021 when the Nigerian Bar Association in the state held a peaceful protest at Government House, Uyo, over agitation for judicial autonomy.
In the video clip of the incident. posted on facebookMr. Yuguda could be heard shouting “I will smoke you if you pass by this place”, to the lawyers who wanted the state governor, Udom Emmanuel, to address them.
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