CWPPF demands independent probe into police assault on Abuja journalist

A press freedom coalition is demanding an independent investigation into the alleged assault of a journalist by police officers in Abuja. The Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) called on the Inspector-General of Police and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command to establish a panel outside the command structure implicated in the incident.

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under an independent mechanism outside the direct command structure implicated in the allegation.

The coalition wants the police to publicly identify the officers and unit involved in an operation on August 19, 2026, in Lugbe, Abuja. They also requested the preservation and production of deployment records, operational orders, patrol logs, and any CCTV or bodycam footage related to the event. The CWPPF described the attack on Sunday Ogwu, editor of Pinnacle Daily, as "unprovoked brutality" and "lawlessness" by officers from the Lugbe Police Division.

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the officers and unit deployed to the Lugbe Federal Housing Estate operation on 19 August 2026, and reconcile this with the PRO’s earlier statement to ICIR that the officers may not have been under FCT Command.

Ogwu recounted that he encountered the demolition exercise while on a stroll and attempted to record it with his phone. He stated that a police officer snatched his phone, and when he identified himself as a journalist, officers attempted to arrest him. He alleges that officers then flogged him with an electric cable on the instruction of the officer in charge for "non-compliance." After being released, Ogwu claims he was flogged again and his phone damaged when he tried to record the incident from a distance, with the officer in charge reportedly saying the initial flogging was insufficient.

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Preserve and produce deployment records, operational orders, patrol vehicle logs, and any available CCTV or bodycam footage relevant to the operation.

The FCT Police Command spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, stated that Ogwu had declined several invitations since August 19 to provide an official statement or evidence. She claimed he had instead been circulating videos on social media to garner public sentiment and pressure.

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unprovoked brutality