CWPPF demands independent probe into police assault on Abuja journalist

The Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) on Saturday called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command to set up an independent investigation panel to probe into the assault meted out to the Editor of Pinnacle Daily, Sunday Ogwu, by police officers in Lugbe, Abuja.

​In a statement, the coalition demanded that the investigation should be “under an independent mechanism outside the direct command structure implicated in the allegation.”

​It demanded that the police publicly identify ” the officers and unit deployed to the Lugbe Federal Housing Estate operation on 19 August 2026, and reconcile this with the PRO’s earlier statement to ICIR that the officers may not have been under FCT Command.”

​“Preserve and produce deployment records, operational orders, patrol vehicle logs, and any available CCTV or bodycam footage relevant to the operation,” the group urged the police.

On Thursday, the coalition condemned Mr Ogwu’s assault by the police, describing the attack on Mr Ogwu as “unprovoked brutality” and “lawlessness” by operatives of the Lugbe Police Division led by Mr Uchenna, a chief suprintendent of police.

The coalition is an assembly of members spanning accountability journalism organisations, including PREMIUM TIMES, and civil society groups concerned with media freedom and promoting democratic values.

Background

Mr Ogwu, who recounted the traumatic experience, said he encountered the demolition exercise while taking an evening stroll in the Lugbe area of Abuja.

“The operation involved about four Hilux patrol vans bearing the inscription ‘Lugbe Police Division alongside Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) members identifiable by their brown outfits and logos,” the coalition’s statement said.

Mr Ogwu reportedly pulled out his phone to record the scene. However, a police officer snatched his phone despite Mr Ogwu identifying himself as a journalist.

Thereafter, the officers attempted to arrest him alongside local youths. When he resisted, insisting he was a journalist, the officers flogged him with an electric cable “on the instruction of the officer in charge for non-compliance.”

After this, the police released Mr Ogwu, but again flogged him and damaged his phone when he tried to record the incident 100 metres away from the initial scene.

Justifying their second round of flogging, the officer in charge said the first flogging was not enough. This resulted in physical damage.

‘Why Ogwu has not made statement to police’

The coalition’s latest intervention followed the FCT Police Command spokeskerson Josephine Adeh’s statement on Friday saying Mr Ogwu had declined several police invitations since 19 August to make an official statement or “present relevant evidence to assist the investigation.”

​The police said instead of honouring their invitations, Mr Ogwu comtinued circulating videos on social media “to mobilise public sentiment and create undue pressure around an ongoing investigation.”

​The statement called on Mr Ogwu to present himself to the Command Headquarters in Abuja at 12 p.m. on Friday.​

However, CWPPF said Mr Ogwu needed to take precaution before making a statement to the same police command at the centre of his allegations of assault.

The group said the police command has resorted to blaming the victim while avoiding the real issues.

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“Taken together, CWPPF is concerned that the substantive allegation of assault risks being displaced by a competing narrative about the complainant’s conduct. We wish to state plainly: a citizen’s decision to consult legal counsel and press-freedom organisations before making a formal statement to the very command implicated in his alleged assault is not evidence of obstruction.”

​“It is a reasonable precaution. The attitude of the FCT Police Command in the matter so far, which borders on blaming the victim while avoiding the real issues in question, clearly proves that the precaution was wise and justified,” it added.

​It also said Mr Ogwu could not have honoured invitation immediately while still tending to the wounds inflicted by the harassment.

​It also cited reports by ICIR and FIJ to counter Ms Adeh’s claim that the alleged abuse on Mr Ogwu was not carried out by officers under the FCT Command.

​CWPPF said FIJ reported that while the police divisional police officer in Lugbe, Ukorobo Uchenna, a chief superintendent of police, did not deny the alleged assault, he questioned whether Mr Ogwu had directly seen or spoken to him. A second publication confirmed Mr Uchenna and his team were deployed that day, though it framed the action as an anti-drug operation rather than a demolition exercise.

The coalition renewed its call for a public apology and compensation for his injuries and damaged phones.

​It also said Mr Ogwu would honour the police invitation alongside his lawyers on Monday.