Journalist Recounts Police Brutality Experience

A journalist, John Alabi has recounted how he was brutalised by Police personnel attached to the Akinyele Divisional Headquarters.

Alabi, who is a correspondent of Silverbird Television in Ibadan was on Tuesday brutalised by the police in the line of duty, following the face-off between the Police and some hoodlums at Moniya axis of Ibadan.

The Silverbird TV reporter disclosed that he was released from police custody following the intervention of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council.

“Here is the narration of my ordeal during the bloody clash between the police and some hoodlums that took place today, Tuesday, 25th April 2023 at Moniya, Ibadan.

“I was at Akinyele Local Government in the morning on the said date, where I had a scheduled assignment to cover for my organisation.

“As a journalist, I got to the venue ahead of the commencement of the assignment as expected and unfortunately, while waiting for the organisers, I got wind of information that there was a public disorder around the Akinyele Local Government.

“As expected of a professional journalist, I tried to know what the matter was and I was taking a few shots.

“Suddenly, I saw about five police officers who approached and harrassed me, hitting me with a gun butt, even after drawing their attention to the fact that I am a journalist.

“I showed them my identity card and other documents to show that I’m a journalist, but they turned deaf ears, arrested me and detained me at Akinyele Police Station from around 10:45 in the morning till 4:30 in the evening.

“Some of them threatened that I will be locked up at the State CID Iyaganku, and I will pay for a crime I did not commit.

“The policemen were five in number, one of them is named Noah Ajebade. Three of them were not in uniform.

“The DPO after checking my identity card said I should sit on one of the chairs behind the complain desk.

“He did not attend to me till he received a call from his superior and that was around 3 pm.

“It took the intervention of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Oyo State Council before I was released,” he narrated.