The Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command to establish an independent investigation panel to probe the assault on the Editor of Pinnacle Daily, Sunday Ogwu, by police officers in Lugbe, Abuja. The demand was made in a statement issued on Saturday, following the incident that occurred on 19 August 2026.
Coalition demands independent mechanism
In the statement, the coalition insisted that the investigation should be conducted under an independent mechanism outside the direct command structure implicated in the allegation. The group also demanded that the police publicly identify the officers and unit deployed to the Lugbe Federal Housing Estate operation on 19 August 2026, and reconcile this with the PRO’s earlier statement to the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) that the officers may not have been under FCT Command.
The CWPPF urged the police to preserve and produce deployment records, operational orders, patrol vehicle logs, and any available CCTV or bodycam footage relevant to the operation. The coalition’s call comes after it condemned Mr Ogwu’s assault on Thursday, describing the attack as “unprovoked brutality” and “lawlessness” by operatives of the Lugbe Police Division led by Mr Uchenna, a chief superintendent of police.
Details of the assault
Mr Ogwu recounted the traumatic experience, saying he encountered a demolition exercise while taking an evening stroll in the Lugbe area of Abuja. The operation involved about four Hilux patrol vans bearing the inscription ‘Lugbe Police Division’ alongside Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) members identifiable by their brown outfits and logos, according to the coalition’s statement.
Mr Ogwu reportedly pulled out his phone to record the scene. However, a police officer snatched his phone despite Mr Ogwu identifying himself as a journalist. The officers then attempted to arrest him alongside local youths. When he resisted, insisting he was a journalist, the officers flogged him with an electric cable on the instruction of the officer in charge for non-compliance.
After this, the police released Mr Ogwu, but again flogged him and damaged his phone when he tried to record the incident 100 metres away from the initial scene. Justifying their second round of flogging, the officer in charge said the first flogging was not enough, resulting in physical damage.
Why Ogwu has not made statement to police
The coalition’s latest intervention followed the FCT Police Command spokesperson Josephine Adeh’s statement on Friday saying Mr Ogwu had declined several police invitations since 19 August to make an official statement or present relevant evidence to assist the investigation. The police said instead of honouring their invitations, Mr Ogwu continued circulating videos on social media to mobilise public sentiment and create undue pressure around an ongoing investigation.
The statement called on Mr Ogwu to present himself to the Command Headquarters in Abuja at 12 p.m. on Friday. However, CWPPF said Mr Ogwu needed to take precaution before making a statement to the same police command at the centre of his allegations of assault. The group said the police command has resorted to blaming the victim while avoiding the real issues.
“Taken together, CWPPF is concerned that the substantive allegation of assault risks being displaced by a competing narrative about the complainant’s conduct. We wish to state plainly: a citizen’s decision to consult legal counsel and press-freedom organisations before making a formal statement to the very command implicated in his alleged assault is not evidence of obstruction,” the coalition said.
“It is a reasonable precaution. The attitude of the FCT Police Command in the matter so far, which borders on blaming the victim while avoiding the real issues in question, clearly proves that the precaution was wise and justified,” it added.
The coalition also said Mr Ogwu could not have honoured the invitation immediately while still tending to the wounds inflicted by the harassment. It also cited reports by ICIR and the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) to counter Ms Adeh’s claim that the alleged abuse on Mr Ogwu was not carried out by officers under the FCT Command.
CWPPF said FIJ reported that while the police divisional police officer in Lugbe, Ukorobo Uchenna, a chief superintendent of police, did not deny the alleged assault, he questioned whether Mr Ogwu had directly seen or spoken to him. A second publication confirmed Mr Uchenna and his team were deployed that day, though it framed the action as an anti-drug operation rather than a demolition exercise.
The coalition renewed its call for a public apology and compensation for his injuries and damaged phones. It also said Mr Ogwu would honour the police invitation alongside his lawyers on Monday.
