The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) South West, has called for adequate compensation for journalists and media houses affected by the attacks carried out recently by suspected hoodlums in the region.
The Vice President and the Zonal Secretary of the union, Cosmas Oni and Bamigbola Gbolagunte, made the call in a statement on Thursday.
The union decried the attack on some media houses in the region by hoodlums, describing the act as barbaric and unfortunate.
The NUJ called on the Federal Government and well-meaning individuals in the society to provide palliatives to the affected media establishments in order for them to restore normal services.
The union said that the media has contributed immensely to the growth of democracy in Nigeria, and should not be the target of such attacks.
Describing the attack on the media as ill-motivated and a wrong signal to the International Community, the NUJ called for an immediate halt to any form of attack on the media or journalists carrying out their legitimate duties.
It can be recalled that the corporate headquarters of Television Continental (TVC), the Nation newspaper, Lagos TV, Eko FM, and Traffic Radio, all in Lagos were attacked on Wednesday by hoodlums.
Also attacked was the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) Osogbo.
The hoodlums also attacked Channels TV and OSBC reporters.
“The media have always identified with masses and together with other human rights activists; we fought for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria.
“It therefore baffles our minds, why we should be victims of attack in a democratic setting.
“It’s unfortunate that all the media establishments affected by attacks are located in the South West region which is the hub of journalism in Nigeria.
“On this note, we call on the federal government to come to the rescue of the affected media establishments by providing relief funds for them.
“We also call for a thorough investigation into all the attacks carried out on media houses and journalists in the last few days.
“We call for adequate compensation for all our members affected by the attack,” the statement added.
