Nigerian Editor Beaten, Phone Seized by Police While Documenting Demolition

Sunday Michael Ogwu, an editor with the online newspaper Pinnacle Daily, reported being beaten and having his phone confiscated by police officers attached to the Lugbe Police Station in Abuja. The incident occurred while Ogwu was documenting a demolition exercise in the area.

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I was badly beaten. Eventually, they said they would take me to the station, and then they asked me to leave.

Ogwu stated that he began filming the joint operation involving police and vigilante members during an evening stroll. The officers then confronted him, seized his phone, and ordered him to leave. He recounted being "badly beaten" before being told to go to the station, though he was ultimately allowed to leave without being taken there.

Following the incident, Ogwu documented the event and shared it on social media. He claims that after his post, individuals were sent after him, leading to the eventual seizure of his phone. Ogwu identified the police officers involved by seeing "Lugbe Police Station" written on one of the pickup vans used during the operation. He attempted to identify the leader of the operation but was unsuccessful.

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I saw Lugbe Police Station written on the van of one of the pickups that they came out for the special operation with. I asked them repeatedly to tell me who was the leader of that operation, but they refused.

In a video posted on Facebook, Ogwu mentioned that the officers questioned whether he had obtained permission to cover the exercise. He asserted that documenting a public function does not require prior permission and that authorities should not fear journalistic coverage of their work. Despite his explanation, he reported receiving "several strokes" and being asked to leave.

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I told them this is a public function and I don’t think what you are doing is illegal. If you’re carrying out proper work, you shouldn’t be afraid a journalist is covering it. Instead, I was given several strokes and was asked to leave.