By Gbenga Oloniniran
Arise Television crew was attacked while covering the ongoing governorship and House of Assembly elections in the Elegushi Palace area of Lagos State.
According to broadcast journalist, Oseni Rufai, via his verified Twitter handle on Saturday, the cameras and drone used for coverage were seized and a correspondent brutalised.
“Arise crew attacked in Elegushi. People issue threats and no one is arrested but the Arise TV crew was attacked and arrested in Ikate,” he tweeted.
“The cameraman suffered facial injuries while drones and equipment have been seized,” Arise TV also stated in news published on its website.
Details of those who attacked the crew were still sketchy as of press time.
It was however gathered that the team was at the police station, and that the Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, had promised to swing into action.
Calls and text messages sent to the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin, for details of the incident had yet to be responded to as of the time of filing this report.
The PUNCH reports that harassment of journalists covering elections has been recurrent.
During the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25, at least 14 journalists were attacked, brutalised or detained, a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists stated.
This also includes the attack on a PUNCHman in Rivers State by a team of the Nigeria Police Force.
Source: The Punch
