By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
The National Association of Judicial Correspondents (NAJUC), Lagos branch, on Monday condemned the looting, wanton destruction of properties and setting ablaze of the Lagos High Court, Igbosere, and Igbosere magistrates’ court last week by hoodlums who took advantage of the #ENDSARS peaceful protest to wreck havoc on the court complex.
In a statement issued by Chairman of the Association in reaction to the unfortunate development, Comrade Peter Fowoyo, “We are not against peaceful protesters demanding for their rights from a democratically elected government as enshrined within the ambit of the law, but what we condemned in its entirety, is the setting ablaze of both individuals and government properties.
“Our press centre, located within the premises of the court was badly affected as office equipments worth millions of naira, purchased last year through efforts of our members were either carted away or burnt down by these hoodlums.
“We therefore call on the government to ensure that those who perpetrated this dastardly act are apprehended and brought to book to serve as deterrent to others in the future.
“We sympathise and solidly stand with the judiciary in this moment of grieve. We seize this opportunity to call on the third arm of government to include press centers in all the courts across the country in order to establish a symbiotic relationship between the judiciary and the media especially those assigned to the judicial beat.
“The Federal Government should ensure that journalists’ lives and their properties are adequately protected by security agencies and government policies in order to enable them discharge their functions according to the dictates of the constitution.
“It is imperative to state that ironically, journalists in Nigeria, who report about other people’s plights in the society, have no hazard allowance in the course of doing their jobs.
“Some are owed months of unpaid salaries. We therefore call on the Federal Government, through the office of the Minister for Information, to review salary structures and allowances of journalists especially in government owned media organizations just as the government is doing to the Nigerian Police Force and other sectors of the economy.”