The journalist was forced at gunpoint to delete all the pictures he took. It took the intervention of his colleagues who insisted that his phone must be returned.
Pelumi Olajengbesi, the counsel to the 12 persons that were arrested at the residence of Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Sunday Igboho, has condemned the harassment of journalists by operatives of the Department of State Services.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported how journalists covering the case involving the detained associates of Igboho were assaulted by DSS operatives.
A photojournalist with Vanguard, Gbenga Olamikan, was manhandled on the court premises while covering the arrival of the agitators as armed DSS operatives pounced on him and seized his mobile phone.
The journalist was forced at gunpoint to delete all the pictures he took. It took the intervention of his colleagues who insisted that his phone must be returned.
Also, the operatives in an attempt to prevent other journalists from filming the Yoruba Nation agitators cordoned off the courtroom and denied journalists carrying out their duties.
The situation led to heated arguments as journalists insisted that the security operatives could not stop them from the coverage.
Reacting to this, Olajengbesi stated that the assault was an insult on the powers of the Federal High Court stating that the premises of the Federal High Court and other courts in the country were open to all Nigerians and professionals.
He condemned the action of the DSS and urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call the DSS officials order.
He added that the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, must re-orientate the DSS on the extent and limits of their powers under the law.
Olajengbesi said, “I condemn in totality the brutal harassment of journalists and media personnel by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) this morning at the Federal High Court, Abuja. Newsmen and reporters who had exercised their right to press to cover the trial of the abducted associates of Mr Sunday Igboho were today intimidated, badgered and obstructed from carrying out their assignments in court by aggressive men of the DSS who went further to seize gadgets and other materials belonging to the newsmen.
“Their action stands strongly condemned and is in fact an assault on the hallowed chambers of the Federal High Court. The premises of the Federal High Court and indeed any court in the country are open to all Nigerians and professionals and it is simply not the property of the DSS over which they can exert such brutish control. By cordoning off the court’s premises from Press access and intimidating the newsmen in court away from the spectre of the trial, the DSS erred arrogantly and aggrieved the very sanctity of the courtroom.
“The lawless action of the DSS, an executive agency, on the premise of the Federal High Court is an affront on the integrity and independence of the judiciary, and this must not be countenanced by inaction by the authorities. As a matter of urgency, President Muhammadu Buhari must call his agents to order and the Minister of Justice must equally re-orientate the DSS on the extent and limits of their powers under the law.
“With regards to all items unlawfully and forcefully taken off journalists at gunpoint at the court’s premises today, the DSS have twenty-four (24) within which to produce all in their original working conditions or face immediate legal action. Refusal to do so amounts to ‘authority stealing' if not armed robbery and this will be challenged and remedied with punitive consequences against the DSS.
“While such intimidation and oppressive technique against the Press and innocent participants in court have become the modus operandi of the court, it goes against the very spirit and letters of the Nigerian constitution and other relevant statutes on the matter. The DSS are cautioned to refrain from this classless and unlawful path as it negates their very own existence as a creation of the law.”
Justice Obiora Egwuatu had last week while ruling on the enforcement of fundamental rights suit filed by their lawyer, Olajengbesi, ordered the DSS to produce the agitators in court.