Rose Onda
The Lagos State Government on Thursday condemned the reported brutalisation of a journalist with Guild Press Limited, Benjamin Anaja, by some operatives of the Kick Against Indiscipline(KAI) at Meiran Bus Stop, along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
A statement by the State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, said the present administration in the State has zero tolerance for any form of brutalisation of members of the public by any of her staffers or agents.
Bello stated that the incident will be thoroughly investigated and all the KAI operatives mentioned in the news report, which has already gone viral, will be interrogated on what actually transpired and punitive measures taken if found culpable.
He reiterated that the complainant would also be invited to come forward and substantiate his complaint and possibly identify the culprits who attacked him despite identifying himself as a journalist.
The State apologised to the victim, the management of the Guild publishing company and the Nigerian Union of Journalists, promising that such an unfortunate incident will not repeat itself.
Bello said the present administration under the leadership of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu believes in a free and unfettered media, which is a basic requirement for a better and egalitarian society.
It would be recalled that a news story has gone viral on Wednesday evening about some operatives of KAI dislodging street traders at Meiran Bus Stop on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and who reportedly accosted a journalist who was recording the event.
He claimed to have produced his identity card, but was dragged into the Green Maria, brutalised, detained for several hours and had his identity card rumpled before he was eventually released at Ikeja Along Bus Stop.