Police harass The Guardian reporter in Lagos

About 15 thugs attacked The Guardian reporter on Saturday while discharging his duty at a collation centre situated at the Community Primary School in Idimu area of Lagos.

When the reporter visited the centre to check the movement of election materials at about 8:15 am, some of the INEC ad-hoc staff were seen barricading the school entrance.

While the reporter took pictures and video of protesting corp members, who were owed allowances, he was attacked by thugs that claimed to be agents of political parties. They demanded that The Guardian reporter deletes the videos and pictures.

The thugs carrying planks and metal vowed to break our reporter’s phone if he declined to delete the pictures. After much argument, the thugs seized his phone.

When the reporter approached one of the police officers attached to the centre to salvage the situation, he ordered that the reporter be taken to Area M Idimu Police station to report the incident.

After identifying himself at the Idimu Police Station, The Guardian reporter was harassed by officers at the counter, who challenged his action to take pictures and videos.

He was detained temporarily before the intervention of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).

Our reporter explained to the DPO that he was discharging his duties, the police officer said journalists are not expected to take pictures at the collation centres.

He later ordered the release of the journalist and insisted that all pictures captured on his phone during the voting exercise be deleted by constables at the counter.

The DPO threatened that if the journalist was reported for taking picture and videos at polling units, he would be locked up in the cell.