The Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) has condemned the Department of State Services (DSS) in the state over Monday’s brutality meted out to two Journalists (Timothy Agbor of The Point Newspapers, and Toba Adedeji of the Osun Defender Newspaper), who were discharging their constitutional duty by covering a protest by the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees to the State House of Assembly.

The group also threatened to sue the affected men of the DSS if they failed to tender a public apology to the men of pen profession, particularly, the affected law abiding Journalists within 14 days of committing the dastardly act.

Trouble was said to have started when the Journalists, Agbor and Adedeji took pictures of the protesters along Osogbo-Gbongan Road on their way to the House of Assembly.

A female operative of the DSS, dressed in a black polo shirt, accosted Agbor and demanded to know his mission. The journalist was said to have told the lady that he was a Journalist and the report has it that the lady got angry when Agbor also demanded the identity of the operative.

The group further described the action of the security agents as inhuman, undemocratic, unconstitutional, illegal, and unacceptable. It also advocated for the protection of media practitioners’ right.

In a statement issued and signed by the CSCEOS’ Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman, on Tuesday, he disclosed that the group received the news of the unjust brutality of the two journalists by the security agents with shock as they also threatened to gun them down for no just offence than going about their legitimate duty.

Comrade Sulaiman called on the authority of the DSS to commence immediate investigation into the matter by fishing out those that perpetrated the evil act and appropriate punishment prescribed for them so as to serve as a deterrent to others.

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