By OBOH LINUS

Operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), on Saturday brutalised a journalist, Edwin Philip of Breeze FM, Lafia, who was covering the Governorship and State House Assembly election in Nasarawa State.

Philip, who is the Head of News, in the FM station, said he was beaten by the NSCDC personnel when he was performing his constitutional and legitimate role on an election day.

According to him, he was assaulted and brutalised while reporting election proceeding live to his station, Breeze FM 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 law.

“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 beaten up some electorate.

“All of a sudden, he disappeared from the polling unit only to reappeared with an 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,” he narrated.

He 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 NSCDC Nasarawa Command as well as the police command in the state.

The NSCDC Nasarawa State Command Public Relation Officer, Mr Victor Jerry, confirmed the attacked to newsmen in Lafia.

Jerry, however, said that the personnel who carried out the attack were not deployed from Nasarawa state Command, noting that the command would launch an investigation to fish out whoever was behind the attack to bring them to book. (NAN)

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