A Kaduna-based Daily Times journalist, Idibia Gabriel, is accusing the Nigerian police of assault and illegal detention after he filmed officers shepherding cattle along a public highway on June 11, 2024.
Mr. Gabriel claims he was taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Gabasawa, Kaduna, where he was detained and tortured, resulting in injuries to his eye. His phone and ID card were seized, and he was released later that evening with one side of his eye almost blinded due to the torture.
The police officers also deleted the snapshot from his handset and took every detail of his, including his contact number, address, and description of his residence, before releasing him on self-recognition.
The Chairman of the Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna State Council, and the Police Public Relations Officer, Kaduna State Police Command, have been informed of the incident, but no action has been taken yet.
This incident adds to a growing list of clashes between Nigerian journalists and security forces.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
