Police officers have allegedly assaulted a journalist, Sunday Michael Ogwu of Pinnacle Daily and destroyed his mobile phone while he was filming a demolition exercise in Abuja.
Mr Ogwu, Editor of Pinnacle Daily, was allegedly assaulted on Wednesday, August 19, while covering a joint demolition operation around the Lugbe Federal Housing Estate, according to the Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) .
CWPPF, a coalition of 31 media including WikkiTimes, civil society organisations and law firms, in a statement signed by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) condemned the incident as a fresh attack on press freedom and the constitutional right of citizens and journalists to document the activities of law enforcement officers in public.
The alleged assault comes months after a Federal High Court judgment in Warri, Delta State, affirming the right of Nigerians to record police officers while they are performing their duties in public.
The coalition said Ogwu encountered about four police Hilux patrol vans marked “Lugbe Police Division” alongside members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) at about 5:30pm while covering the operation.
According to CWPPF, Ogwu brought out his mobile phone to record the exercise but a police officer allegedly seized the device.
The journalist reportedly identified himself as a member of the press and attempted to speak with the team leader. Instead, the officers allegedly surrounded him, arrested some local youths and ordered Ogwu into a patrol van.
When he declined, citing his status as a journalist, the coalition alleged that the officer in charge instructed the officers to flog him with an electric cable.
CWPPF said the journalist was eventually allowed to leave but was assaulted again after he moved about 100 metres away and resumed recording the operation while sending a distress message to his media organisation.
The officers allegedly noticed him filming, pursued him, dragged him back to the demolition site and subjected him to another round of flogging.
The coalition said the assault left Ogwu injured and severely damaged his mobile phone before passersby intervened and advised him to leave the area.
Police Defy Court Ruling
The alleged assault has raised fresh concerns over police compliance with a Federal High Court judgment delivered in March 2026, which affirmed the right of Nigerians to record police officers while they are performing their duties in public.
In the judgment, Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa held that citizens have a constitutional right to record police officers performing their duties in public.
The judgment, delivered in Suit No. FHC/WR/CS/87/2025, also directed police officers engaged in public operations to wear visible name tags and display their force numbers or other proper identification.
The court further ruled that officers must not harass, intimidate, arrest or confiscate devices from citizens who record their activities.
The judgment followed a fundamental rights suit filed by lawyer Maxwell Nosakhare Uwaifo after an encounter with police officers during a stop-and-search operation at Sapele Roundabout while he was travelling from Benin to Warri on May 10, 2025.
Uwaifo had argued that the right of citizens to record law enforcement officers performing their duties was protected by Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.
The court awarded him N5 million in damages for violation of his fundamental rights and a further N2 million in litigation costs.
The alleged treatment of Ogwu raises serious questions about compliance with the judgment, particularly regarding the seizure of recording devices and alleged harassment of citizens documenting police operations.
Police Had Earlier Recognised Right To Film Officers
The position affirmed by the court is also consistent with an earlier public statement by the Nigeria Police Force.
In December 2023, the police said citizens were permitted to photograph or record police officers while they were on duty.
The then Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said filming or photographing police officers was not an offence and warned that harassing people who recorded police activities constituted misconduct.
CSP Anietie Iniedu, Head of the Police Complaint Response Unit (CRU), also described the court ruling as transformative, arguing that video recordings could provide direct evidence for police investigations and strengthen accountability.
He said the ruling gave the CRU judicial backing to treat video recordings as legitimate complaint documentation and could help move policing from reactive complaint handling towards proactive accountability.
Iniedu further said the requirement for visible identification of officers could help address cases of abuse committed by unidentified officers.
CWPPF Demands Investigation, Compensation
Against this background, CWPPF has called on Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu and the FCT Police Command to immediately launch a transparent investigation into the alleged assault.
The coalition wants the officers and VGN personnel involved identified and subjected to appropriate disciplinary action if the allegations are established.
It also demanded compensation for Ogwu’s damaged phone, payment of his medical expenses and a public apology to the journalist and Pinnacle Daily.
CWPPF further urged police authorities to direct divisions across the FCT to end the intimidation, harassment and physical assault of journalists covering public events.
The coalition maintained that documenting the activities of public officials and security agencies is an essential component of accountability journalism and should not be treated as a criminal act.
The allegations have therefore renewed concerns about the gap between constitutional protections, judicial pronouncements and the conduct of some law enforcement officers on the ground.
The coalition insisted that the ability to record events without intimidation or physical assault is fundamental to ensuring that abuses by public officials do not occur beyond public scrutiny.
