June 12: Police Officer Attacks BBC Journalist, Seizes His Phone During Protest In Ibadan

A Nigerian journalist identified as Micheal, who works with the BBC, was attacked by a police officer on Saturday during the June 12 Protest at Mokola in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The reporter, who works with BBC Pidgin, was slapped while trying to record the harassment of protesters by security operatives, Premium Times reports.

Michael was attacked by a police officer identified as S. A. Oke. The officer also seized the reporter’s phone.

It was also stated that the police officer allegedly vowed to kill any protester who refused to listen to their orders. Some officers were heard saying protest is ‘illegal on democracy day’.

Many Nigerians have taken over the streets in peaceful protests against bad governance, public corruption, other forms of maladministration and the worsening state of insecurity across the country.

The protest was deliberately planned to coincide with Nigeria’s Democracy Day. Organisers of the June 12 protests have called on Nigerians to boycott official activities lined up by authorities to commemorate the day and join the demonstrations in their localities.

The last week before the protest has seen heightened campaigns about the protests on various social media platforms following the June 4 ban on Twitter operations by the Buhari administration.