Segun Babatunde in Bauchi
Some political thugs suspected to be loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi state on Thursday stormed the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Bauchi state to disrupt a press conference.
This is so as the State Council of the NUJ has banned media coverage of all activities of the Youth Wing of the APC in the State.
Our Correspondent reports that the hoodlums attacked the secretariat of the union at 10:40 am where they disrupted the press conference being addressed by some factional members of the party who were calling for the dissolution of the state executives of the party.
The thugs hurled stones and chairs at journalists and other attendants of the press conference in a bid to stop it from holding.
It took the intervention of the police men led by the public relations officer Ahmed Wakili who visited the secretariat to bring succour to the journalists and the organizers of the press conference.
Our correspondent reports that some of the culprits fled the scene to avoid arrrest by the police men while the rest were taken to the zone 12 headquarters of the Nigeria police force (AIG’s office) in the state where the case was being handled.
Two journalists sustained mild injuries during the attack and were accompanied to the police headquarters zone 12 by the state NUJ chairman Umar Sa’id to give statements.
Meanwhile,the State Council of the NUJ has banned media coverage of all activities of the Youth Wing of the APC in the State.
This followed the disruption of a Press Conference organised by the APC Consultative Forum Thursday at NUJ Secretariat by some youth believed to be from APC which resulted in some members sustaining injuries as well as destruction of some working tools.
In a Press release signed by the Secretary of the Union, Comrade Isah Garba Gadau and made available to Journalists, “the council therefore called on the security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the unfortunate act for proper prosecution” .
While commending the Police for their prompt action, the NUJ called on its members to go about their normal duties as necessary steps are taken to protect their security, integrity and that of union.
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