Kaduna: PDP Decries Attacks On Journalists
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday expressed worries over the rising cases of violent attacks on media practitioners in Kaduna State and called on security agencies to adopt stringent measures to check the ugly trend.
Speaking when he paid a sympathy and solidarity visit to the Kaduna chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), State chairman of the PDP in Kaduna, Mr Hassan Hyet, declared that incessant attacks on journalists was an assault on the entire society.
“Journalists have a statutory duty to educate and inform. Any attack on them will deny Nigerians the right to be educated and informed. That should be everyone’s concern,” Hyet said.
The PDP State chairman, who described the attack as “very unfortunate”, advised politicians to learn the act of tolerance, stressing that; “Politicians must be tolerant of divergent views. In a democracy, people must be allowed to air their views and voice out grievances.”
According to him, “Nigeria is not a jungle; people should not use their fists, instead of their voices, in countering others’ positions on issues. The journalists were merely performing their duties at the NUJ. It was wrong for anyone to have even allowed strangers into the NUJ premises.
“If you feel someone is giving the wrong information, go to the same media and state your side of the story. The law does not allow anyone to take a cutlass and start chasing other people just because of a political disagreement,” he said.
The NUJ chairman Yusuf Adamu thanked Hyet for the visit and said that the Sunday attack was the first of its kind in the history of the NUJ in Kaduna.
Thugs had invaded the NUJ secretariat on Sunday, when top members of the APC, including Senators, House of Representatives members and party officials were addressing a press conference.
The press conference had centred on the delegates’ election conducted by the party on Saturday, July 29. The thugs beat up journalists, broke cameras and midgets, and also destroyed part of the NUJ building.
