The Nigeria Union of Journalists has condemned in the strongest terms, the invasion of a radio station in Enugu State by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
On Monday evening, EFCC raided Urban 94.5FM; disrupting a live broadcast to whisk away a broadcaster, Favour Ekoh in the process.
The staff of the station were forced to sit on the floor during the invasion and some of their broadcasting equipment was tampered with.
Reacting to the development, the chairman of NUJ, Enugu Council, Comrade Sam Udekwe, said the action of the Commission is condemnable, insisting that we’re not in a military era.
In a release signed by the secretary of the Council, Dame Ifeoma Amuta and made available to the media, Comrade Udekwe described the act as unprofessional no matter the seriousness of the investigation being carried out noting “it is only times of 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”.
The NUJ Chairman while calling for a 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 to point out different degrees of intimidation to media workers without proper redress at the end of the day and called for a stop to official neglect.
