TheCable

A police officer assaulted and threatened to kill Ovie Okpare, Delta state correspondent of PUNCH, at Nana College, Warri, on Wednesday.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) used the college as collation centre for the by-election in Warri south constituency 1 of the state house of assembly.

Trouble started when the officer attached to the counter terrorism unit reportedly denied the journalists access to the collation centre.

All attempts to make him see reason did not yield the desired result as he ordered Okpare to leave the vicinity.

When he realized that he could not intimidate the reporter by dishing out orders, he used the butt of his gun to hit Okpare, and also dealt several blows on him.

The officer with badge identity C. Lanson also descended on Egufe Yafugborhi, a correspondent of Vanguard.

“You say you are pressmen. I’ll not allow you to come into this place because you people will come in and go out to press what you did not see,” the officer was quoted as saying.

“Leave here! I say leave here!”

The reporters had to reach out to Zanna Ibrahim, the state commissioner of police, before the situation was brought under control.

Ibrahim has promised to look into the matter.

The harassment of journalist by overzealous security personnel has been a source of concern.

On Monday, Bashir Abubakar, chief security officer to President Muhammadu Buhari, expelled Olalekan Adetayo, state house correspondent of PUNCH, from the presidential villa over what he considered as “uncomplimentary reports” by the newspaper.