NUJ Condemns Armed Attack on Rhythm 94.7FM, Calls It an Assault on Press Freedom

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State Council, has strongly condemned the recent armed attack on Rhythm 94.7FM, a privately owned radio station based in Yenagoa, describing the incident as a grave threat to press freedom.

In a statement issued to newsmen on Monday in Yenagoa, the NUJ Bayelsa Chairman, Comrade Tonye Yemoleigha, and Council Secretary, Comrade Stanley Imgbi, decried the assault, calling it “a rape on the entire media family in Bayelsa and on press freedom.”

According to the statement, the radio station was attacked on two separate occasions—Saturday, May 17, at about 2:10 p.m., and Sunday, May 18, at 4:40 p.m.—by unidentified gunmen who carted away valuables during the operations.

“Some of the valuables collected include mobile phones, recorders and operational gadgets belonging to staff on duty,” Yemoleigha disclosed.

The NUJ Chairman called on security agencies, particularly the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, to ensure that the perpetrators of the crime are identified and brought to justice.

He also urged the police to station a patrol van near the premises of the media house, given its isolated location, similar to measures taken in other strategic points across Yenagoa.

Yemoleigha, however, expressed relief that no lives were lost during the attacks.