OVERZEALOUS security aides attached to Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola yesterday threw caution to the wind, harassing journalists posted to the Governor's Office and threatening to beat them up over telephone handsets.

The governor’s aides, who have formed the habit of assaulting reporters, started with a correspondent from one of the Abuja-based newspapers, whom a State Security Service (SSS) office asked to leave the reception of the Governor's Office for his alleged refusal to cooperate with their attempt to discriminate against journalists.

Next to suffer a similar treatment Tuesday, last week, was the Champion correspondent, Mansur Oladunjoye, who was assaulted for daring to enter the governor’s banquet hall with a GSM handset.

An SSS operative had approached the reporter who was sending a text message to a senior official of the State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) (names withheld, to seek his reaction to an allegation of fraud leveled against him by the residents of Arigbanla, on the outskirts of Lagos, who were protesting being short-changed in the distribution of relief materials.

But, the security agents who allegedly felt that the reporter should not have taken his phone into the venue of the yet-to-begin inauguration of the Housing Arbitration Committee, wrestled with him in their attempt to forcefully seize his phone.
The SSS operatives also detained another correspondent, as he rebuffed an attempt to force him out of the venue of an event.

The security agents threatened: “If you don’t come outside now, I assure you that you won’t attend another assignment in the State House again.”

This, however, led to the intervention of other reporters, including the Chairman, Governor’s Office Reporters’ Corps, Taiwo Olapade, who lamented the constant assault visited on newsmen assigned to cover the activities of the governor.

At yesterday’s visit of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee to the Lagos House, Ikeja, despite the fact that reporters were mobilised by a government spokesman, Kunle Adesina, about an hour to the take-off of the event, they were, as usual, asked to drop their phones at the lobby, a directive all of them complied with.

A reporter with The Gurdian who pleaded with the SSS men to allow him record the proceedings of the visit with one of his phones, after handing over the other one, was asked to get out of the venue.

Further pleadings, however, enraged one of the security agents, more as he invited a policeman standing nearby to help him bundle out the reporter.

As expected, about 30 other journalists who witnessed the assault threatened to pull out. They were, however, rebuffed by all the SSS officials who told them to “go out, if you go out, will heaven fall?”

Fashola, on Tuesday at far-away Epe at the launching of 363-unit Sir Michael Otedola Housing Estate on his protocol list, admitted that the press had constantly been a viable intermediary between his government and the public.



http://www.nigeriancompass.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5066:fasholas-aides-assault-journalists-&catid=54:nigeria-today&Itemid=594

So much for democrazy

Thank God it wasn't Fashola that assaulted the Journalists. All these press people sef

Democracy don sufa

Some of this security aides na just non-entities!!! what is all that? this pressmen are the viable assets for information about our goverment proceedings in all quarters( even though dem dey sabi lie some times ) be it as it may, they shouldn't be treated with disdain. Haba! na their daily bread and butter dem dey find na. Otondo policemen. yeye!

I thought freedom of speech just signed by FG.

Must journalists be undisciplined?

well, with the way stories are fabricated anyhow these days, its hard to differentiate wheat from chaff.

For God's sake journalists,is it by force?Must you cover H.E. at risk to ur very dignity to which every Nigerian is entitled?Walk out of the place and I bet you, you will be begged to return.Have some self pride.Enough is enough.

@@@@@@@@@@

yeye

see how they carry style dey protect their god father instead addressing the issue

this una fashola don dey piss me off these days

^^are you ok?

That is ok we just have to obey simple instruction

is it because na journalist dem assult? dem dey assult innocent citizens everyday without anyone talking about it, so wata gwaan?

It is Fashola's fault. Why can't he call his security people to order? Bloody ACN attempt to cow the press. We should organize a protest march

A protest match because a journalist was assaulted by fashola's aid ? what then should we do to GEJ's security aid assaulting the whole of lagos residents whenever he visits lagos ? burn down the whole country abi. U just cant please the world oh

so what? hat is teh Big deal the governor need some security jare who know if the phone is a bomb thank to the security man Jare to every action there must be a reason

Those journalists are problems on their own, after covering thesame event,they will come and give different reports, They shud live the place if they ar being chased, afterall they r among the problems we hav in this countryThose journalists are problems on their own, after covering thesame event,they will come and give different reports, They shud live the place if they ar being chased, afterall they r among the problems we hav in this country