Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
The prompt response of the operatives of the Rivers State Police Command averted a near deadly attack by armed youths on the ARISE NEWS crew on Friday night, THISDAY has learnt.
THISDAY gathered that the suspected political thugs, fully armed, invaded a hotel in Orazi axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area (LGA) of the state and disrupted a live interview of the television station.
It was learnt that the ARISE NEWS crew were conducting the interview with a former Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment in the state, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, when the thugs invaded the hotel premises and disrupted the interview.
The thugs, it was further gathered, forced the live interview to end abruptly, and forcefully seized the camera and other equipment belonging to the media house.
An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, explained that Nwibubasa, who is an associate of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, was speaking on the political issues in the state when a man suspected to be a guest at the hotel allegedly called the thugs on phone.
The source, who said the thugs invaded the hotel at about 9:15pm, disclosed that both the commissioner and the ARISE NEWS cameraman escaped by the whiskers.
The source also revealed that the angry thugs who were fierce looking, claimed that the interview, which they claimed was against a prominent political leader in the area, shouldn’t be conducted in their town.
The witness narrated: “They were chanting in their local language (Ikwerre) that they would not allow such interviews on their land. They were forcing doors open searching for the former commissioner and the ARISE NEWS guys.
“The workers in the hotel started running helter-skelter. They later got to the spot where the interview was being held and started threatening the former commissioner and the ARISE NEWS crew to discontinue the interview and forced them to stop,” the witness added.
Narrating his ordeal, the reporter with the ARISE NEWS, Mr. Andy Omano, who narrowly escaped the attack, said:
“At that point, I called the police control room and also put a call across to some of my colleagues. The police responded and said they were on their way to the hotel.
“The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the area arrived with his men. Together with the hotel manager, they ensured that the commissioner and the cameraman came down and were taken out of the hotel to the Kala Police Station where they made statements on what transpired.”
Also speaking with THISDAY, the ARISE NEWS cameraman, who identified himself as Promise, said: “The men seized my Sonny Canada Zed 280, industrial tripod, wireless microphone and other accessories.
“I had just filed that report before starting with the former commissioner in a programme called ‘News Night’ when two men stormed the place and disrupted the live programme”, he added.
Also explaining his ordeal, the former commissioner said: “I was already rounding off the interview and speaking about the forthcoming 2027 general election. The thugs were already showing us signs of what will happen. See how they were breaking doors looking for me. Why? This is a free society”.
However, a statement by the police spokesperson, CSP Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the incident, said “Police timely intervention averted the attack on the media crew. Police have also recovered all the items collected from the journalists, including the camera and other items. They are safe now.”
