APGA guber candidate condemns assault on journalists in Nasarawa by NSCDC

The Governorship candidate of All Progressive Grant Alliance (APGA), in Nasarawa state, Mr. Labaran Maku, has condemned in totality the brutality of journalists by operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Lafia on Friday. Maku described the assault as primitive and violence against armless journalists who are lawfully carrying out their job without any infringement on any existing law. He made the condemnation when he visited the victims (Rabiu Omaku, Universal online reporter and Gambo Ahmed, of the Peoples Daily at the specialist hospital in Lafia on Sunday. According to him, “I am here to sympathize with my colleagues who were beaten to pulp by security operative while performing their official assignment. I am worried by this ungodly and unpatriotic act. “I condemn in totality the brutality on two of my colleagues by the Civil Defense operatives. This is nothing but primitive violence, it is undemocratic and barbaric. This must stop. “I can’t imagine that officers of the Pension Bureau will order security operatives to beat up journalists who went to the Bureau’s notice board to source information”. He lamented that the state Pension Bureau has something to hide and that was why the Public Relation Officer could order the security to resort to such inhuman attack when no offense was committed. “Journalists are the mirror of the society and you don’t need to be angry with the mirror for showing you your true image; if your image is not good looking go and do make up to look good enough and not to be angry with the mirror and break it”, Maku explained. He however noted that when he was supervising minister of defence the NSCDC operatives used to be very disciplined and civil and therefore urged the state commandant to carry out thorough investigation and punish the officers involved in the incident, if found wanting. The APGA candidate in the state urged all media practitioners across the country to remain dogged and refuse to be intimidated by any effort to muscle and suppress the media. “The 2019 general election is here; the media must rise up and defend our hard earned democracy through objective and investigative reportage and refuse to be gagged by any means; more so we have the freedom of press law”. Accordingly, he called on all media practitioners globally to join him to condemn the brutal attack on the two reporters because an injury to one is injury to all. As at the time of going to press, the two journalists were undergoing some treatment at the Dalhatu Arafat specialist hospital with serious injuries all over their body as they were beaten to coma. Augustine Kuza, Lafia