Emmanuel Ukudolo
January 18, 2016 – The Nigerian Union of Journalists has filed a N500 million against Nigerian Customs Service for the brutal assault of one Yomi Olomoefe, a badagry based-journalist at Seme border post.
Lawyer to the NUJ and brutalized journalist, Jiti Ogunye who announced this at a news briefing today at the Alausa Secretariat of the NUJ said the suit is before a Federal High Court in Lagos.
He said the brutal assault on the journalist by un identified persons within the premises of Nigerian Customs Service over six months ago was in clear violation of his fundamental human rights.
He noted that one of their demands from the court was to make pronouncement against the treatment meted on the journalist who was left to die in a refuse dump after the beating.
He explained that medical reports indicated that the journalist who is still recuperating suffered severe injury and psychological trauma after the incident.
The human rights lawyer said it was unfortunate that journalists that played a prominent role in the return of democracy to the country have continued to be battered by security agents and the powers that be.
On his part, the National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Waheed Odusilw vowed that the group will not allow the matter to be swept under the carpet saying they will see it to a logical conclusion.
Odusile also noted that letters written to the police and the Nigerian Customs Service for thorough investigation into the matter many months back fell on deaf ears.
He insisted that the media practitioners will never be intimated in the course of their duty so long as they are within the ethics of the profession.
In his remarks, Lagos state chairman of the NUJ, Deji Elumoye urged media practitioners to fully support the course of getting justice for Olomoefe, saying injury to one is injury to all.
