Asaba during the protest
The #EndBadGovernance protest which started peacefully in Asaba, Delta state turned violent hours later when a group of thugs said to have been hired by some politicians to counter the protesters attacked some journalists covering the protests.
Journalists attacked by the thugs include Prince Amour Udemude; a Punch correspondent identified as Matthew Ochei; Guardian reporter, Monday Osayande, and a senior journalist with the state-owned Pointer newspaper, identified as Lucy.
Trouble was said to have started at Inter-Bau junction when the thugs confronted the protesters and the journalists in their midst attempting to intimidate and silence the chanting protesters.
The hoodlums reportedly pounced on Udemude as he was filming the proceedings and physically assaulted him. They demanded for his phone and both parties struggled over the phone with fellow journalists standing their ground unwilling to surrender the phone to the hoodlums.
As the situation escalated, the thugs turned their aggression towards Ochei, Osayande, and Lucy, an editor from the state-owned Pointer newspaper. All this happened in the presence of policemen. It took the arrival of Army personnel for calm to be restored.
However, Asaba remained largely calm on Thursday but without the usual commercial buzz. Offices and shops were shut for fear of violence.
Political Economist NG reports that banks were also closed in Asaba. A UBA staff confided in our reporter that they were asked to go back in the morning when they reported for duty.
