Yobe Journalists protest Assault of NTA Reporter by Police Officer

 

A Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) reporter, Mr Babagana Kolo, was assaulted at the Yobe House of Assembly complex in Damaturu, on Thursday.

The incident occurred while a group of journalists were waiting to be ushered into the chamber to cover Governor Mai Mala Buni’s presentation of the 2026 budget before the legislature.

Eyewitnesses said the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Yobe Government House, CSP Yakubu Zakari Deba, pounced on Kolo and hit him on the face, inflicting injuries in mouth

The attack reportedly disrupted the media’s orderly coverage of the event as journalists threatened to boycott the budget presentation.

It took the intervention of Alhaji Abdullahi Bego, the Commissioner for Information, for the journalists to continue with the coverage.

Deba, who has served in the Yobe Government House for nearly two decades, was first posted to the state as an inspector and served as Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the then Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, now Minister of Police Affairs.

The officer, now a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), has in the past had strained relations with members of the press, leading to the temporary boycott of government activities by journalists in 2022.

CP Emmanuel Ado, the State’s Police Commissioner promised to investigate the matter and take appropriate measure.