Army captain assaults Daily Trust photojournalist
A photojournalist with Daily Trust newspaper, Ikechukwu Ibe, was yesterday assaulted by an Army captain while taking photos of an accident scene in Jabi area of Abuja. The Army captain, who was wearing camouflage without a name tag, said the photojournalist was caught taking pictures and refused to surrender his camera when asked to do […]
A photojournalist with Daily Trust newspaper, Ikechukwu Ibe, was yesterday assaulted by an Army captain while taking photos of an accident scene in Jabi area of Abuja.
The Army captain, who was wearing camouflage without a name tag, said the photojournalist was caught taking pictures and refused to surrender his camera when asked to do so.
“I put his head in between my laps and removed his camera from his neck. While struggling to get up, he injured me in my mouth and finger,” the captain said.
He said he later ordered that the photojournalist be put in a prison van along with other suspects. These include some other people brutalized for taking pictures of the accident scene.
The captain later handed the photojournalist over to the police. He was released around 7:30pm yesterday.
Narrating his ordeal, Ibe said he was informed about an accident in the area involving a taxi that ran into the building housing Mr. Biggs restaurant in Jabi and went to get photos from the scene.
“When I got there around 3:00pm, I introduced myself to the security men on ground and told them I would like to take some pictures but they said I should not. I told them the accident was already in public knowledge and that there was no reason why photos should not be taken,” he explained.
He said when he started taking the pictures, the Army captain, who was part of the Joint Ministerial Taskforce which included men of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), started beating him up.
“They collected my camera, broke it and took my memory card which contained the photos that I have taken. They also tore my clothes before bundling me into a Black Maria where I met six other persons.
“I later put a call across to my photo editor and the Daily Trust Editor who brought a pair of trousers to me at the Life Camp Police station where I was later taken.
“They later secured my release and my broken camera was handed back to me without the memory card. My ID card was not returned and N3,700 cash in my pocket was also gone,” he said.