Attack on Journalists: Ogoni Group Accused Police of Shielding Perpetrators

The Rivers State Police Command was accused of shielding those responsible for an attack on an ARISE TV news crew and a guest, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, in Port Harcourt.

The incident reportedly occurred on Friday at a hotel in the Orazi area of the state capital during a live television interview. Unidentified armed youths were said to have disrupted the programme and assaulted members of the ARISE TV crew while Nwibubasa, a former Rivers State Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, was on air.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Grace Iringe-Koko, said timely police intervention prevented further harm. She stated that all items collected from the journalists, including cameras and other equipment, were recovered and that the victims were safe.

Narrating the incident, the ARISE TV reporter who led the crew, Andy Omano, said the police were contacted immediately. He added that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area later arrived with his men.

However, reacting to the incident, an Ogoni-born political management consultant, Joe Korka-Waadah, accused the police of shielding the perpetrators, allegedly due to undue influence. Korka-Waadah, who is also the Executive Director of the Canada-based Compassionate Heart Foundation, described the incident as an attack on the Ogoni people and warned that it underscored the dangers facing democratic expression ahead of the 2027 elections.

“It is unfortunate that in our dear Rivers State, thugs and hoodlums can be deployed with impunity to harm or possibly kill a citizen merely for expressing an opinion to which he is entitled,” he said.

According to him, the attack occurred on Ogoni Day, a development he described as symbolic and deeply troubling. He recalled past abuses against the Ogoni people, including the killing of four Ogoni leaders and the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others in 1995.

“This was not just an attack on Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa as an individual. As a prominent son of Ogoni, it was an attack on the entire Ogoni nation. We will not sit by and allow intimidation or violence against our people. Never again,” Korka-Waadah said.

He further expressed concern that despite the recovery of seized equipment and the rescue of the victims, no arrests were made. He described the failure to arrest any suspect as aiding and abetting criminality.

Efforts to obtain further reaction from the police on the allegation of shielding the attackers were ongoing as of press time.