Operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps on Saturday brutalised a journalist, Edwin Philip of Breeze FM, Lafia, who was covering the Governorship and State House Assembly elections in Nasarawa State.
The Journalist, who is the Head of News in the FM station, revealed that he was beaten by the NSCDC personnel.
Philip said this occurred when he was performing his constitutional and legitimate role on an election day.
According to him, he was assaulted and brutalised while reporting election proceedings live to his station’s Situation Room.
This, he said, was after he got a call that voters at Polling Unit 061, Chiroma Ward, Lafia East were asked to come back to vote after being accredited, a development which is against the new Electoral Act.
Philip added: “On reaching the venue, I was told by the electorate that they were told to be accredited and go back home to return by 2:30pm, while their fingers are dotted by ink, symbolising that they have voted.
“On sighting Ibrahim Abdullahi (Adon garin), Chief of Staff to Emir of Lafia, I moved away from the polling unit as he became violent and started beating up some electorate.
“All of a sudden, he disappeared from the polling unit only to reappear with NSCDC personnel and ordered them to beat me up and take me away.
“They beat me and left a deep cut on my head and swollen body.”
Philip said that the personnel took his wrist watch, fez cap and his mobile phone and later returned his mobile phone to him, adding that he had reported the matter to the Nasarawa State Command of the NSCDC and Nasarawa State Police Command.
The spokesman of the Nasarawa State NSCDC Command Victor Jerry, confirmed the attack to newsmen in Lafia.
Jerry, however, said that the personnel who carried out the attack were not deployed from Nasarawa State Command.
He said the Command would launch an investigation to fish out whoever was behind the attack to bring them to book.
