...Demands apology, compensation
By RhemDy News
The Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) has condemned the violent physical assault, harassment, unlawful seizure, and destruction of working tools belonging to Sunday Michael Ogwu, the editor of Pinnacle Daily by officers of Lugbe Division of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command.
The alleged assault was led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the division who ordered his men to assault the journalist alongside members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN).
According to a personal account shared with the coalition by the victim, at about 5:30pm on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, he was taking a stroll around the Lugbe Federal Housing Estate (FHA) area in Abuja when he encountered an ongoing demolition exercise.
Ogwu said the operation involved about four Toyota Hilux patrol vans bearing the inscription "Lugbe Police Division" alongside VGN members identifiable by their brown outfits and logos.
Upon bringing out his mobile phone to document the exercise, a police officer forcibly snatched the device without warning, and despite repeatedly identifying himself as a journalist and attempting to speak with the team leader, the police officers surrounded him, arrested local youths, and demanded that Mr. Ogwu also get into a patrol van.
When he refused on the grounds that he was a journalist doing his lawful job and not a criminal, the officers flogged him with an electric cable on the instruction of the officer in charge for non-compliance.
In a further demonstration of impunity, after his phone was returned and was told to leave, Mr. Ogwu walked approximately 100 metres away to record a video to document the assault and send a distress message to his media organisation.
He said upon noticing that he was recording again, the police officers ran after him, dragged him back to the demolition site, and subjected him to a second round of flogging on the explicit order of the officer in charge, who declared that the first beating "was not enough".
The editor lamented that the assault resulted in physical injury and severe damage to his phone before the intervention of passersby who urged him to leave for his safety.
In a statement signed by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), the CWPPF described the unprovoked brutality and lawlessness of operatives of the Lugbe Police Division as deeply unsettling and unacceptable.
It maintained that documenting public operations conducted by state agents is a constitutionally protected right, not a criminal offence.
"It is therefore worrisome that police officers, duty-bound to enforce law and order, would resort to using electric cables to torture a journalist for performing his civic and professional duties.
"This unlawful attack on Mr. Ogwu by the police officers severely damages Nigeria's standing on the global press freedom index and contradicts public assurances by police leadership regarding respect for human rights and press freedom," the organisation stated.
The CWPPF firmly reiterated that journalism is not a crime, stressing that the duty of the press to hold public institutions accountable is guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.
It therefore called on the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Tunji Disu, and the FCT Police Command to order an immediate transparent investigation into the incident to identify, arrest, and discipline the police officers and VGN personnel involved in the assault on Mr Ogwu.
The police boss is also urged to fully compensate Mr. Ogwu for his damaged mobile phone and cover all medical expenses incurred as a result of the physical assault.
It further demand for issuance of a formal public apology to Ogwu and the management of Pinnacle Daily for the unlawful attack and destruction of property.
The CWPPF also called on IGP Disu to direct all police divisions across the FCT to immediately cease the intimidation, harassment, and physical assault of journalists covering public events.
The body reiterated its commitment to ensuring a free and safe environment for journalists to discharge their constitutional duties without any fear of retaliation, intimidation or harassment.
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