The International Press Centre (IPC) has condemned the recent attacks on journalists by masked security operatives during a hunger protest at the Abuja National Stadium on Saturday, August 3.
According to the IPC, these operatives opened fire on journalists who were covering the event, an act that the IPC finds deeply disturbing and appalling.
The IPC expressed its grave concern over the continuous targeting, victimization, and brutal assault of journalists by security officials, hoodlums, and anti-protesters while they perform their professional duties.
The Press Centre emphasized that such inhumane behavior towards members of the press is unacceptable.
Information gathered from the IPC’s journalists’ safety alert situation room indicates a worrying increase in the number of attacks on journalists and media professionals.
These attacks include physical assaults, harassment, and unlawful detentions, among other forms of aggression.
One notable incident documented by the IPC’s Safety of Journalists Alert Desk occurred in Abuja, where Olukayode Jayeola, a photojournalist with The Punch Newspaper, was arrested by police officers while covering the protest at Eagle Square.
His camera, phones, and other personal belongings were confiscated by the security operatives.
In another alarming incident, masked security operatives fired sporadically at journalists at the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
The bullets pierced a car belonging to a Premium Times reporter, which was transporting several journalists away from the location. Among those in the car were journalists from The Punch, The Cable, Premium Times, and Peoples Gazette.
The IPC also reported that in Borno State, nine staff members of Radio Ndarason Internationale were arrested by security officials in Maiduguri while reporting on the protests.
The IPC believes these increasing attacks are intended to deter the media from reporting the truth about the protests.
This disturbing trend not only jeopardizes the safety of the journalists involved but also undermines the integrity of the information that citizens rely on to fully understand the crisis.
The IPC has reiterated the urgent need for the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies to call their personnel in the field to order and ensure the safety of journalists.
The Centre emphasized that the protection of journalists is crucial for the maintenance of a free and informed society.
