Popular online medium, ABN TV has petitioned the Abia state commissioner of police over alleged threat to life by ACB Agbazuere, Chief of Staff to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
Igbere TV had reported that Agbazuere, on Friday, allegedly ordered government house security officers to manhandle two journalists attached to ABN TV.
The journalists were covering a protest by the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), who were demanding 25 months unpaid salaries from the state government.
In a three-page petition exclusively obtained by Igbere TV on Saturday, ABN TV boss, Ifeanyi Okali said the lives of the two journalists were threatened on the order of the chief of staff.
The ABN TV boss further alleged that the security officers equally threatened to deal with him, while forcefully snatching the cameras from his staff, erasing the protest video.
Efforts to obtain comment from the accused, Agbazuere, were unsuccessful. Text message sent to his line was yet to be responded to as at press time.
Meanwhile, the petition by ABN TV entitled, “Threat to my life and my staff members by Abia government official”, signed by Victor Okali is reproduced below by Igbere TV;
“I write to bring to your attention an open threat to my life and that of members of my staff by ACB Agbazuere, the Chief of Staff to Abia state Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu at a wing of the Government House Umuahia on Thursday, December 19, 2019.
“It all started when I got a phone call from a member of Academic Staff Union of College of Education, Abia state college of Education, Arochukwu demanding a media coverage of their protest in which they are asking for the payment of backlog of 25 months’ salary arrears owed them by the state government.
“I immediately assigned two of my staff, a reporter by the name Kingsley Alozie and a cameraman Uwagwu Nobert Okechukwu.
“After the protest coverage at the Abia State House of Assembly, the protesters also moved to the Abia state government house to further make their demands known to the state Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu. My staff were also there to get the response of the state government.
“After the address by ACB Agbazuere, the Chief of Staff to the governor, he called the team of reporters on ground (ABN TV reporter and Horn Newspaper correspondent) and ordered some men at the Government House to take care of them.
“Surprisingly, the care the state government could offer to journalists on their legitimate duty was to take them to a certain dark room and threaten them to kill their story.
““The men took us to a wing of the government house, in a dark office and intimidated us to present our camera for verification. When we refused, they forcefully scrutinize our recorders and asked for our names and asked if we want to die young. Who is your boss? If you publish this report, we will get you down and go after your boss. We were bullied and intimidated in that room for 15 minutes. They are about 5 persons in the room where they intimidated us for practicing our profession”, the staff said.
“I therefore appeal to you to use your good office to look into this matter and bring to book anybody found wanting in this effort to muzzle the press.
“We shall be available when called upon to give testimony as far as this matter is concerned. Looking forward for your swift intervention.”
