…Names the officers.
…Victim battles with eye treatment.
by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
A Kaduna journalist, Mr. Idibia Gabriel, who was reportedly arrested and tortured by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in Kaduna for taking action picture of a herd of cattle shepherded by uniform police, is groaning with an eye pain.
He was arrested for haven taken a snapshot of uncountable number of herds along Kachia major road at U/Boro, in Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna State, with two others on June 11th 2024, but was later released.
In a telephone interview with one of the star witnesses and victims of the police arrest, Comrade Kevin Sunday Umaru, who confirmed the incident, said the journalist was physically tortured and brutalized psychologically and mentally for doing nothing to the police.
Mr. Kevin Umaru, a Kaduna indigene, who was also a victim of police arrest on same day, but from different spots, also confirmed that the police wanted to kill the journalist, who was knocked down with a heavy blow by an officer, while in police custody.
Earlier in the interview with Umaru, Mr. Idibia expressed lamentation, emphasizing that he did not do anything that hot the police officers to warrant the torture, knowing the importance of the operatives.
He said, aside greeting and introduction as journalist and taken action picture of a section of the large herd of cattle shepherded by the uniform police on popular major road with holdup inside Kaduna suburb town, he never did anything wrongly.
Reacting to denial of torturing of the journalist by police, Mr. Kevin Umaru aggressively opens up, saying: “It’s a big lie; many of them were there, including one short police. I told my people that you sat innocently, and that boy just blow you.”
He said, “A female police officer, in fact, everybody there can testify that the boy dealt you heavy blows. Is it somebody who asked them to go and drink hard drugs? In fact, he wished to kill you, and one other boy that was coming around you all the time.
“I know their names; there is Awual, there is Badogu, there is one who wrote statement for you. The one that was kind to us is Nehemiah.
“The one that was always coming around, insulting you with long stick is from Adamawa State. That your brother, the Idoma person, knows all the boys,” he lamented.
When told to be sincere and fearless when contacted for clarification by his Union body leaders, Kevin responded sharply, adding, “Was I not there? Nobody touched me,” he concluded.
According to Kevin Umaru, “Honorable, my brother said we should take up the matter, that by right, they don’t suppose to arrest me, but I said “No.” But he disagreed with me, that we should take up the case with police.”
Mr. Idibia was arrested by the police operatives and later taken to their custody at the Police CID, Kaduna State Branch, at Ibrahim Taiwo Road, where he collapsed as a result of torture and hitting on the left side of his face, putting him in trouble of going from one eye hospital to another for treatments.
Confirming the witness’s testimony to the State Police PPRO, with the audio interview, the ASP, Mansir Hassan, neither contested the witness account nor faulted the facts of the matter as stated in audio sent to his WhatsApp.
A Coalition of Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) had earlier issued a statement condemning the arrest and assault on the journalist by police, describing the action as “unlawful and disturbing.”
Up till date, the Nigeria Police is yet to come up with any statement on the unlawful assault on the journalist currently battling with the eye treatment with support from CWPPF and the Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Development (CJID), among other journalists’ protection bodies.