Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Enugu State Council has condemned in strongest terms, the invasion of a private Radio Station in Enugu State by the operatives of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Enugu office.
It would be recalled that on Monday, October 14, 2024, operatives of EFCC Enugu office raided Urban radio 94.5FM; disrupting a live broadcast and whisked away a broadcaster, Favour Ekoh, in the process.
The members of staff of the station were subsequently forced to sit on the floor during the invasion and some of their broadcasting equipment tampered with.
Mr Sam Udekwe, Chairman of NUJ in the state said the action of the commission was condemnable.
He said that the action of anti-graft agency was inimical to the tenets of democracy, insisting that Nigeria is not in military era.
In a release signed by the Secretary of the Council, Dame Ifeoma Amuta and made available to Ikengaonline, Udekwe described the act “as unprofessional no matter the seriousness of the investigation being carried out.”
“It is only times of the military seizure of power that we experience such act of forceful disruption of broadcast transmission of this kind.
“No matter what offence, it’s the individual that may have committed it as alleged and should be gone after in a due process and not extending it to public facilities like radio on air,” he said.
The chairman while calling for thorough investigation into the matter to ascertain whether it was truly carried out by men on official duty, asked the EFCC to apologise to the station and general public for the embarrassment and unethical act.
He observed that it has become a recurring decimal for men in uniform meting out different degrees of intimidation to media workers without proper redress at the end of the day and called for a stop to the official neglect.
