Attack on Journalists: YOMPON Condemns Act, Demands Public Apology From Ogun Labour Leaders

ABEOKUTA - The National President, Young Media Practitioners of Nigeria (YOMPON), Michael-Azeez Ogunsiji has described as barbaric the attack on some journalists in Ogun State by some labour leaders on Tuesday.

Some journalists including Punch, PM News correspondents were reportedly beaten by some labour leaders at the entrance of the State Hospital Ijaiye, Abeokuta where they had gone to monitor the workers' level of compliance with the strike action embarked upon by the organized labour in the state.

THE ENCOUNTER NEWS gathered that the union leaders who were armed with canes and sticks, beat the journalists and prevented them from performing their constitutional duties.

The YOMPON President in a release issued in Abeokuta on Tuesday, however, noted that it is saddened to see supposed educated people who are career officers at different government's parastatals turned thugs.

Ogunsiji, therefore, give the state NLC 48 hours to fish out the culprits and tender public apology to the mother body of NUJ and the affected journalists.

He said failure to comply with this directive, the association would direct its members from covering labour union activities in the state.

"It is saddens to see that educated people who are career officials at different government's parastatals turned to thugs. 

"While it is their fundamental rights to use industrial action to express their demands, it is also barbaric for the same set of people to obstruct another professionals from performing their constitutional duties. 

"How on earth can they get the attention of the government without media support? How on earth can they win the battle without the involvement of the media? 

"For this expected Civil servants to have resorted to beating our colleagues after they showed them their identity cards means government still need to flush out many people disguising as thugs from the system. 

"The association condemned in its entirety, the unprovoked attack by the labour leaders. 

"We hereby demand; that the NLC and its other sister bodies should tendered unreserved apology to the journalists in the state. This they should do through a letter to the NUJ leadership in the state and also through print media, online, radio and TV stations. 

"That the culprits of this barbaric act should be fished out among their members and be handed over to the police for assault, causing public unrest and attempted murder. 

"That the NLC should get new gadgets to  our colleagues who either lost it or got destroyed during the attack. 

"That failure to do any of this within 48 hours will forced us to order all our members to stop reporting the activities of NLC. 

"That we make take this up through legal means and seek redress in a competent court. 

"We hope our demands are meant or YOMPON will cease to end all the existing relationship between us and the NLC. We will also declare the union a persona non grata in our midst."