The Media Community in Rivers State comprising senior journalists, veterans, publishers, and media managers under the aegis of Port Harcourt Press have strongly condemned the unprovoked attack on an Arise TV crew by unknown armed men, on Friday, January 2, 2026, in Orazi Community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the State.
This condemnation was expressed on Thursday, 08 January 2026 during a World Press Conference at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre (NUJ Secretariat) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, via a press statement signed by the Publishers of Port Harcourt Telegraph, Ogbonna Nwuke, Today’s TopNews, Ngo Martyns-Yellowe, and National Network, Jerry Needam, respectively.
Addressing journalists on behalf of the Port Harcourt Press, Ogbonna Nwuke, who is the Publisher of Port Harcourt Telegraph, described the incident as a threat to both the Nigerian media and human lives, especially, in the forceful carting away of broadcast equipment.
He said the attack, which was brutally executed while the Arise TV crew were conducting an interview with Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, a former Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment in the State, smacks of nothing but an act of intimidation.
He averred that the uncivilized and crude act, was perpetrated to test-run a clandestine plan to instil fear in journalists and stifle the Press before the coming elections.
The Port Harcourt Press called on the Inspector General of Police, Dr Kayode Egbetokun, and the State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, to justifiably acquit themselves of complicity in this matter by showing commitment to a logical investigation, arrest, and prosecution of all those involved and those that armed the thugs that invaded the hotel to disrupt the Arise interview.
An abridged version of the statement is reproduced below:
WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE TO CONDEMN THE UNPROVOKED ATTACK ON ARISE TV CREW ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2026, IN PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA AND OVERHEATING OF THE POLITY BY DESPERATE POLITICIANS.
Gentlemen of the Press
We welcome you to this all-important International Press Conference by this body of veterans, publishers, and media managers in our dear Rivers State, otherwise known as Port Harcourt Press.
This event became necessary drawing from the fact that society collapses quite fast when evil is allowed to thrive while good people keep silent.
It is also important to note that when the journalism profession is threatened, the society of course will come under siege. The unfortunate incident of Friday, January 2, 2026, is a litmus test on what desperate politicians want to re-enact in our State and create an insecure environment.
In the views of Christopher Dodd, “when the public’s right to know is threatened, and when the rights of free speech and free press are at risk, all of the other liberties we hold dear are endangered.”
That harrowing event of Friday, January 2, where the Arise TV crew were brutally attacked by armed men in a hotel in Port Harcourt while conducting an interview with Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, former Honourable Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, smacks of nothing but an act of intimidation, threat to both the Nigerian media and human lives, especially in the forceful carting away of broadcast equipment. An attack on journalists on their legitimate duty is a direct assault on the larger society.
This body has watched with utter consternation the trend of things, vis-à-vis further allegations by the interviewee, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, that the invaders were bold and blunt enough in boasting that any statement against their leader, Chief Nyesom Wike, will be challenged and resisted, and those involved will be dealt with. Such a barbaric style of politics is quite ancient, and this body condemns in its totality the resort to brigandage and barbarian approach in seeking for power or relevance in whatever form.
From available information, the Police appear to be playing to the gallery. While the broadcast equipment was reportedly recovered, no definite arrests have been made. Even more troubling is the fact that Dr. Nwibubasa reportedly mentioned the name of a particular perpetrator, yet no immediate action was taken. The silence of the Police Authority since Friday, January 2, raises serious concerns. We are therefore constrained to believe that the Police may be compromised and, by implication, complicit in this heinous act against the journalism profession in Rivers State.
This body therefore demands an urgent and thorough investigation of this matter, and those found culpable brought to justice within two weeks. Failure to address this issue with the urgency it requires and not carrying out satisfactory actions as required in their prosecution will attract sanctions such as withdrawal of coverage of all Police activities in Rivers State by media organizations and journalists, as we stand in solidarity with the NUJ. We call on the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju Adewole, to justifiably acquit themselves of complicity in this matter by showing commitment to a logical investigation, arrest, and prosecution of all those involved and those that armed the thugs that invaded the hotel to disrupt the Arise interview.
From indications, this uncivilized and crude act was perpetrated to test-run a clandestine plan to instil fear into journalists and stifle the press before the coming elections. We make this bold statement realizing that as veterans and publishers we have always been the targets of bad politics by desperate politicians. We warn that politicians who cannot play by the rules should quit the political space in Rivers State and stop this shenanigan of heating up the polity even when electioneering campaigns are yet to be declared by INEC.
We boldly call out the former Governor and current Minister of FCT, Chief Nyesom Wike, to tread with caution in his desperation for relevance. He has had his fair share as the Governor of Rivers State for eight years, and Rivers people stood behind him. He should kindly come to terms with the fact that power is transient, and since his tenure is over, he should move on and become a statesman. We are all Rivers people, and no ONE is more Rivers than the others. The earlier he comprehends this, the better for everyone.
Regrettably too, the Minister of FCT, Chief E. N. Wike, who the Rivers public expects to display some level of decorum and restraint in his choice of words and mannerisms when making public statements, is not living up to that expectation. As media executives who closely monitor the tempo of our immediate Rivers State mass society, the polity is usually overheated each time he visits the various Local Government Areas to address his supporters based on his dictum and mannerisms. We are not aware of any public office he intends contesting.
We are not even aware of the political party that he is claiming membership of, especially now that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has announced his expulsion from their fold. As a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the fatherly leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we look on him to spread the gospel of peace and tolerance, which we expect will dovetail to a transparent, non-violent, free, fair, and credible elections come the year 2027.
His statements are dangerously inciting people unnecessarily, and that is not an attribute of a leader. He should know when to call it quits; otherwise, he will be leading his followers to a calamitous end. As the late American President, John F. Kennedy, once warned, “Dictators get started by suppressing free press.” We therefore collectively and resolutely say NO to the birth of dictatorship in our dear State, regardless of who is involved.