Top media officials of the Osun State Government have dragged the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun and the Nigeria Police Force before the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, seeking the enforcement of their fundamental rights.
Naijaonpoint reports that the suit was filed on Friday by the Osun State Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi; the spokesperson to the Governor, Olawale Rasheed; and other senior media aides.
The applicants accused the police of harassment, intimidation and threats aimed at disrupting the performance of their official duties.
They alleged that there were repeated attempts by operatives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to deploy the police to suppress and intimidate state media officials.
According to the applicants, the police had threatened to arrest and detain them, a development they described as an infringement on their constitutionally guaranteed rights.
The officials cited recent arrests and what they described as open threats by some police officers to continue such actions, arguing that the suit had become necessary to prevent further violations as the August 8 governorship election draws closer.
They maintained that the alleged actions of the police were politically motivated and designed to silence state officials in the buildup to the election.
The affidavit in support of the suit was deposed to by one of the applicants, a Senior Special Assistant to the governor, Hezekiah Oladele Olabamiji.
In the affidavit, Olabamiji accused the police of acting in concert with unnamed politicians, particularly members of the APC, to arrest, harass and intimidate Osun State officials.
He argued that such actions amounted to a violation of the applicants’ fundamental rights as guaranteed under the Nigerian Constitution.
