N200M suit looms

news update

Brutalized Journalists May Sue Oyakhilome

Tuesday ,Feb.24,2009

By Ayokunle Oloye

Simon Ateba, a reporter with the Lagos -based newspaper, PM News may soon head for the court of law after he was brutalized by Guards attached to Christ Embassy headquarters , Lagos. He was not the only one manhandled . Ateba of PM.NEWS and Kenechi Anikwue, director of photography with HappyDays magazine, were attacked by the security guards when they attempted to take a photograph of the church building located at Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos.

Though,the photograph was not eventually taken, the security guards, including the chief security officer of Christ Embassy church, pounced on the journalists, punching them on their heads and kicking them all over their bodies.

Simon Ateba, fainted after he was hit very hard on the head. His phone was seized and switched off, his personal items were confiscated for several hours before the police stormed the church after a rescue call by concerned citizens .He was rushed by the police to the Emergency Unit of the Ikeja General Hospital, for
treatment.

According to Ateba, “I am doing a story on the biggest churches in West Africa. I had already gone to Winners’ Chapel in Ota and Redeemed Christian Church of God, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. We did not encounter much resistance in these two churches. But when we got to Christ Embassy, we were attempting to take the photograph of the building.

Narrating his ordeal to Newsmen at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism Ateba said “Immediately we were sighted, the security guards pounced on us, dragged us inside the church. I brought out my ID card and told them that I am a journalist and I am doing a story on the biggest churches in West Africa and their church has been mentioned in the story and I need the photograph of the building. “But rather than listen to me, they pounced on the photo journalist, kicked him,punched him and made him sit on the floor. He was eventually injured. When I told them that it was not right to treat journalists that way after we had identified
ourselves, I was taken to the chief security officer where I was asked to go and sit behind the office boxes.”
“A young lady that was very arrogant asked who are Nigerian journalists? They go and write rubbish and junk. I was searched and all the documents on me were confiscated. As I was protesting, the chief security officer said that I don’t know where I am and what can happen to me.”

He added that “After they had gone through the camera and found nothing, they took me to the another office where, as I was protesting how the chief security officer was dragging me, he hit me several times on the head. His aide came and slapped me and I fainted.
“As I was on the ground, they began to laugh. They looked at my shoe and said, it was having holes underneath. They said ‘if you want to die, you can die, after all, MKO Abiola was killed and nothing happened to Nigeria. Poverty is worrying you. See your suit and your shoe. If you need money come to our church.’”
Meanwhile all effort to speak with officials of the Mission speak prove abortive, but as at press time the guards were still being detained at Alausa. Statements have been made by both journalists.