Members of the Kogi State Corespondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), are to boycott all functions in Government House in protest over security agents harassment at the the gate of Government House today.
This was contained in a letter addressed to the Director General to the Governor Kingsley Fanwo, by the chairman of the union, Comrade Ibrahim Obansa and was made available to newsmen in Lokoja.
The letter explained that the security agents on duty threatened to attack harmless journalists going out for their legitimate duty.
The overzealous security agents almost assaulted the chairman of the union. The security agents threatened to deal ruthlessly with the chairman of the chapel, Alhaji Obansa.
According to the union it took the intervention of other members of the chapel who prevented the securities from causing bodily harm on their chairman.
“I want to bring to your notice of the inhuman treatment the security officials at the Government House gate have always meted out to journalists who are at the Government House to cover its activities for which they were invited.
“Of particular issue is the case in point was on 14th November 2016 when security at the gate prevented the contingent of the correspondent’s chapel from accessing the Government house where they were billed to cover a function.”
“Consequent upon this the Correspondent Chapel that is a conglomerate of all the National newspapers has decided to suspend all coverage of Government activities in Government House till further notice for our Lives are more important to us.”
It would be recalled that sometime in March this year, some security agents working with the governor embarrassed members of the Correspondents’ chapel when the then Chairman of the chapel, Mallam Ademu Idakwo and his members were chased away from covering the swearing in of the deputy governor, Chief Simon Achuba.
