The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), an advocacy group, is demanding the immediate prosecution of state operatives and accountability from the Imo State government following the violent assault of a journalist on Monday.
RULAAC issued a strong condemnation of the “brutal assault” on Uchechukwu Olebara, a journalist with Radio Maria 106.7 FM, and the “reckless vandalization” of his vehicle by members of the Imo State Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Unit on October 13, 2025.
According to a statement from RULAAC, the incident occurred near the New Owerri Roundabout. Mr. Olebara reported that he had slowed down to observe a commotion at a demolition site when operatives attacked him.
Mr. Olebara stated that after he identified himself as a journalist, an operative in civilian clothes accused him of filming the exercise. A “mob of operatives” then allegedly descended on him with machetes, clubs, and stones. They proceeded to vandalize his blue Toyota Corolla, smashing its windshields, mirrors, and lights. The journalist said he was forced to flee for his life.
The controversy escalated when a top government official reportedly defended the operatives’ actions. RULAAC claims that when the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) contacted the Special Assistant (SA) to Governor Hope Uzodinma on Monitoring and Compliance, Mr. Nze Chinasa Nwaneri, he “shamelessly attempted to justify this lawless assault.”
Mr. Nwaneri allegedly claimed that Mr. Olebara was “running an illegal taxi operation.” RULAAC blasted this explanation as a “baseless excuse” and an “egregious attempt to divert attention” from the violence.
“Even if a citizen were suspected of a traffic infraction, the lawful response is citation or arrest – not mob violence, assault, and destruction of property,” RULAAC stated.
The advocacy group also raised alarms about the police response to the incident. When Mr. Olebara went to the New Owerri Police Division to file a complaint, officers allegedly advised him to “call the SA and settle with him.” RULAAC condemned this response as an example of a “deep-rooted culture of impunity” and “collusion” that endangers citizens.
RULAAC situated the attack within what it calls a “disturbing pattern of targeted violence and harassment of journalists” in Imo State, citing several previous cases, including assaults and threats against other reporters and newspapers in January and July 2024.
The group noted that CJID’s State Openness Index ranks Imo among the “least transparent and most repressive states” for press freedom in Nigeria.
In response, RULAAC has issued several demands, calling on Governor Hope Uzodinma to publicly condemn the attack and ensure a transparent investigation into the Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Unit and its leader, Mr. Nwaneri.
The group is demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of all operatives involved in the assault and full compensation for Mr. Olebara. It also called for an investigation into the conduct of the police officers at the New Owerri Division.
“The assault on Mr. Uchechukwu Olebara is not merely an attack on one journalist, but an assault on the rule of law, freedom of expression, and the democratic values enshrined in Nigeria’s Constitution,” said Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director of RULAAC.
The centre called on civil society and the media community to “speak out against this culture of impunity” and affirmed its solidarity with Mr. Olebara.
