Armed soldiers allegedly acting on the orders of an officer assaulted eight journalists in the premises of ArmyChildrenSchool, Port Harcourt, the capital city of RiversState in the Niger-Delta area of Nigeria.
The journalists had their video cameras and other working tools including personal effects either destroyed or confiscated by the soldiers. Journalists assaulted included those from MINAJ Radio and Television, Africa Independent Television (AIT), Channels Television, Rivers State Television (RSTV), Radio Rivers, and Newsday. The journalists were officially assigned to cover the demolition of illegal structure within primary schools in the state, including the Army Children School, ordered by the State Executive Council.
They were conveyed to the scene in a Government House press bus with registration number, RVGH 349. Reports have it that the soldiers including one Lance Corporal Ekpe, one Bola and their colleagues, some in uniform, others in mufti, descended on the journalists immediately they (soldiers) arrived the scene, injuring many of them, destroying and confiscating video cameras belonging to Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), AIT, RSTV, Channels TV, and MINAJ, their identity cards and their micro cassette recorders. The journalists were later rescued by the arrival of the state Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Tele Ikuru.The Rivers State Government condemned the assault.
