Journalists Denied Access to Terminal Site as Police Enforce Wike Directive

Policemen in Abuja on Wednesday prevented journalists from entering the Kugbo Bus Terminal in Abuja to cover parts of the terminal destroyed by heavy rainfall.

Ademola Popoola, a Premium Times journalist who had gone to cover the wreck, told Pecohub on Wednesday that policemen at the site denied him entry on FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s orders.

Pecohub also learnt that local security officers, especially vigilantes, harassed some journalists who attempted to film the wreckage. They also attempted to seize and destroy their recording equipment.

The Kugbo Bus Terminal was damaged on Tuesday after a windstorm accompanied by heavy rainfall swept through the area. The storm, which began in the afternoon, ripped through sections of the newly constructed facility, tearing off parts of its roof and scattering debris across the surrounding area.

The impact of the storm extended beyond the terminal, as dislodged roofing materials and other debris spilt onto the Abuja–Keffi Road, obstructing traffic and leaving commuters stranded for hours

Popoola told Pecohub the policemen who prevented him from entering the terminal asked him for a licence from the FCT minister.

“I met with the three police officers at the entrance. I identified myself, and they said that the minister had given the order that they should not allow any journalist to enter the premises,” Popoola said.

“They requested [sic] whether I had the minister’s licence. They asked for my licence. My licence from the minister. I don’t know when journalists started needing a license to report on public facilities. I told them I didn’t have one,” he added.

He said he had earlier seen some vigilantes who directed him to the police.

“I saw some security. I think these particular people are vigilantes. Because they were wearing their clothes. I saw some women sitting down. One was wearing an Army vest. I met one other guy in a yellow jacket without a brand or title. I approached them, and they told me to meet the police,” he said.

After being denied entry, Popoola and other journalists decided to report from outside the terminal. According to him, the News Central TV crew were using a drone to capture the site from the outside when the vigilantes harassed them.

“The News Central crew went up to film, using their drone. Suddenly, I saw two security men. I think they were vigilantes. The moment I saw them running, I knew they wanted to harass a journalist. Before I could get there, they had already started harassing those guys,” he said.

“I heard them saying that they would destroy the drone and the camera. That was when I had to weigh in, and I told them [the vigilantes] that they should not allow anyone to push them into a crime. Because obviously, if they destroy anything, they would pay for it.

“They were not even listening to me. I was telling them to behave themselves, that regardless of whatever order they were given, they should understand that we are journalists, we are just doing our job. And I mean, we are also following an order. If it is not an order from anybody, it is an order from the constitution.

“I was trying to converse with them while they were locking the gears, the cameras, and the drone remote. I saw one of them even, because by the time they came, the drone pilot had already piloted the drone closer. So, one of them wanted to grab the drone while it was still running. And I was like, ‘Don’t even try that.’

“They started holding them, trying to snatch the gears from their hand; they were threatening [us]. So, there were three of us initially, but the TVC crew and other journalists later joined us and asked what was going on.”

Popoola told Pecohub that more security officials came to the scene, while the vigilantes tried to confiscate the journalists’ equipment. One of the security officers said “their boss” wanted to see the journalists.

“The guy said that their boss wanted to see us, that we should follow them with the security man, inside the same premises that they said they didn’t want us to enter. He said that if we were not willing to follow them, then they would drag us. And the next thing, he grabbed a News Central reporter there,” he said.

“The moment he grabbed the man, the other security men grabbed the two journalists with the DSLR camera and the one with the remote of the drone. They also grabbed their bags to pull and drag them. We [the journalists] stood there and said no one would move an inch.

“These three security officers kept dragging the issue. And that, if you see the trending video, that was when the media personnel there tried to protest against whatever those security officers were doing. It is bad for a vigilante to be doing that.

“Subsequently, a man came. I think he’s also a media person. And I think he’s attached to the Minister’s media team. He said that he’s aware of the journalists there, and they should be released. So, the security men removed their hands from those bags. One way or the other, we overpowered them with our strength and unified voice, and they left.”

Lere Olayinka, the spokesperson for the minister, told Pecohub, in response to a message sent on WhatsApp on the incident, that Wike “didn’t direct anyone to prevent journalists from gaining access to the facility”.

“I am aware that the contractor that built the Bus Terminal moved to site yesterday and preventing unauthorised access could be from the contractor, probably for safety and security purposes,” Olayinka wrote