By Jesse Ese, Bayelsa
The Chairman of the Bayelsa State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Tarinyo Akono, has sent an SOS (Save Our Soul) to the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to prevail on the Bayelsa State command of the force to protect journalists in the state from being harassed by thugs.
He lamented that one month after thugs attacked journalists at the Press Centre and injured journalists holding congress meeting including an octogenarian journalist, Pa Simon Ambakederimo, the police has not prosecuted the four thugs it arrested. The Police rather freed the thugs same evening they were arrested.
‘While we demand for the prosecution of the four thugs, we want to urge the police to allow the union settles its internal matter in line with the constitution of the NUJ’. Akono said.
He however, accused the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr Markson Iworiso, the General Manager of the State owned Glory FM-97.1, Mr Lawson Hayford and the General Manager of the state owned Niger Delta Television, Mr Tamarakuro Oweifie, of being behind the current crisis in the NUJ.
Akono called on the Chief Press Secretary to work towards improving the poor media relations between the government and the Press in the state, saying it had never been this bad since the state was created in 1999.
