A journalist, Grandball Joel, of the Pointer newspaper and his Galaxy Television counterpart were on Wednesday, December 6, brutalized by an army captain identified as O. Ibe, for attempting to cover a protest staged by workers of the Ughelli Pumping Station UPS of the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company NPDC, Eruemukohwarien for alleged unpaid eight month salary.
Narrating his ordeal, Grandball Joel, said journalists got the information of the workers protest for their alleged eight months salaries owed and went to cover it as it is part their job and responsibility, but stated that;
“On getting to the UPS premises, we met a number of military personnel on ground and the said Captain O. Ibe immediately ordered me and my colleague to come, which we obeyed.
“He asked who are you and why are you here, and i introduced myself and my colleague to him, and he ordered us to leave the premises immediately. He called one of the soldiers there to take us out, and we obeyed his orders, but surprisingly, as we were going out, the army captain without any form of provocation, from behind descended on me. He slapped me severally, kicking me and hitting me like I was a criminal.
“Even the protesting workers were all surprise as they began to shout and asking the army officer what has the man done to you. At that point, the Captain hurriedly went to seize a rifle from one of his men threatening to shoot me even when I was still on the ground, and charging at me that he was going to destroy my cameras and my midget recorders.”
He said it took the intervention of the protesting workers to rescue him and his colleague as the army captain was bent on killing him for the fact that he came to cover the protest.
“The protesting workers seeing how I was brutalized, rush to bring peak milk for me to drink to regain my consciousness.”
The journalist who was so weak as at on Thursday, December 7, said, he was so surprise at the unprovoked action of the military officer, adding that if not for God, he could have shot him dead while performing his legitimate duties.
He called on the military authority to cautioned the errant officer and to also ensure that journalists are protected.