Nigerian police brutalised reporter in Anambra over pictures

A correspondent with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Mr Peter Okolie was at the weekend manhandled by a police officer, Mmaduekponam Martins for taking pictures of a female officer, Mrs Obi Amaka who was involved in a fisticuffs with a bus driver at Aroma Junction, Awka.

Okolie who was at a nearby internet cafe filing his report for the day was attracted by the noise of some people when he rushed out to behold a female police officer, fighting a commercial bus driver for refusing to part with money after parking at the popular junction.

“I decided to take some shots with my camera, but before I knew it, this officer( Martins) rushed at me, grabbed my shirt and started raining blows on my face,” Okolie explained to Newsmen.

The incident which occured at the weekend left the NAN correspondent and the driver of UNIZIK shuttle with bruises and injuries on their faces, while the police officer insisted on arresting the journalist.

Narrating his ordeal in the hands of the police officer, Okolie said he had threatened to kill him if he refused to release his camera because he took photographs of his colleague while fighting with the shuttle driver .

The bus driver while narrating the cause of the fight to journalists said officer Obi Amaka whose staff number is 14118 invaded his vehicle in a bid to remove his ignition key over his refusal to ‘roger’ her.

He said it was not the first time she insisted that he would give her money, saying that it has become the stock-in-trade of officer Obi Amaka and her colleagues to intimidate bus drivers, tricycle operators and a host of others operating within Aroma axis into giving them money without reason.
It took the timely intervention of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Anambra State Council chairman, Mr Emma Ifesinachi to stop the NAN correspondent and the shuttle driver from further assaults or being dragged to the station.

The Police Public Relations Officer of the Anambra state police command, Mrs Nkeiruka Nwode could not react to the alleged misconduct of one of her men as her mobile number was said to be unreachable.

The Anambra council of NUJ has, however, reported the matter to the Area Command of the Nigeria Police in Awka for appropriate action.

This was on the advise of the state commissioner of police, Garba Umar who promised that the matter would be thoroughly investigated.