Ibraheem Hamza Muhammad
Officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence corps on Saturday brutalised Head of the News, Breeze FM, Lafia, Mr. Edwin Philip, while doing live coverage of Governorship and State House Assembly election in Nasarawa State.
Philip said he was beaten by NSCDC personnel while he was performing his constitutional and legitimate role on an election day.
According to him, he was reporting election proceedings live to his station, Breeze fm situation room, when he got a call that voters at one polling unit 061, Chiroma ward, Lafia East, were asked to come back to vote after being accredited against the new electoral law.
“On reaching the venue, I was told by the electorate that they were told to be acreditated and go back home to return by 2: 30 pm, while their fingers are dotted in symbolising that they have voted.
“On sighting an unidentified local traditional title holder, I moved away from the polling unit as he became violent and started beating up some voters.
“All of sudden he disappeared from the polling unit only to reappear with some NSCDC personnel and ordered them to beat me up and take me away. They beat me and left a deep cut on my head and swollen body.”
He said that the Civil Defence personnel took his wrist watch, fez cap and his mobile phone and later returned his mobile phone to him, adding that he had reported the matter to NSCDC Nasarawa Command and Nigeria Police A Division, Lafia.
The NSCDC Nasarawa State Command Public Relations Officer, Mr Victor Jerry confirmed the attack to newsmen in Lafia.
The PRO, however, said the officers who carried out the attack were not deployed from Nasarawa State Command, noting that the command would launch an investigation to fish out those behind the attack in order to bring them to book.
