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From John Adams Minna
A reporter with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Bida Station in Niger State, Musa Mikail was on Friday night brutalised by security aides attached to the Niger State Governor, Umaru Mohammed Bago.
He was attacked and battered by a team of security personnel attached to the governor at the Emir of Bida Palace during a Ramadan iftar (breaking of fast).
The event was organised in honour of the governor by the Emir of Bida, who is the chairman of the state Council of Traditional Rulers, and Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar.
It was gathered that after an exchange of words between the reporter and a security aide, which eventually led to physical contact, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) ordered his men to attack Mikail.
The reporter was forcefully thrown out of the event and was later followed with physical assault by a number of security operatives who descended on him.
The victim, who expressed shock at the uncivilised attitude of the security aides, wondered why all his explanations to them, including showing his identity card that he is a journalist, fell on deaf ears.
It was gathered that trouble started for the NTA reporter when the governor allegedly ordered security operatives to clear the arena due to the surging crowd. The reporter was also asked to leave but he told the security aides that he was not among those the governor ordered to be cleared.
Narrating the incident, shortly after reporting the assault to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Niger State Council, Musa said he was not in anyway rude to the overzealous security aides but only tried to explain his mission at the palace, which was to cover the event.
Meanwhile the state council of the NUJ said it has received the reports of the assault on the reporter and was currently studying the situation with a view to coming up with the union’s position.
The council urged members to remain calm about the issue.
