PUNCH Newspapers has petitioned the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Hussaini Rabiu, over the alleged threat to the life of its reporter, Chidiebube Okeoma, by one Mr Ohanyere.
Mr Ohanyere is the husband of one Mrs Lilian Chinyere Ohanyere, who is standing trial for alleged child trafficking at a magistrate’s court in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
The defendant’s husband allegedly threatened to deal with Okeoma for covering his wife’s trial.
The Ohanyeres, through their lawyer, Ken Uzoeshi, accused the reporter before a magistrate court of false reporting of the court proceedings and demanded he should be committed to prison for contempt.
However, the presiding magistrate, Adika Ibe, dismissed the application.
Following this, Mr Ohanyere continued issuing verbal threats, recorded a video and took pictures of the reporter.
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The PUNCH Editor, Ademola Oni, in the petition to the CP dated January 27, 2022, urged the police to arrest and prosecute Mr Ohanyere for threatening Okeoma’s life.
The petition read in part, “If the correspondent could be so threatened inside a courtroom, while the suspect’s lawyer, Mr Ken Uzoeshi, couldn’t and didn’t restrain the aggressor, our fear is justified that Mrs Lilian Chinyere Ohanyere’s husband and his hired hands can go to any length to intimidate a reporter for doing his job and go the whole hog to harm our correspondent just to ensure that the child trafficking trial is muted.
“We, therefore, demand that the said Mr Ohanyere (the suspect’s husband) be arrested and prosecuted for threatening the life of an innocent reporter and intimidating him to disrupt the performance of his job. He should be held responsible for any attack on Mr Okeoma, the reporter, now or in future.
“The said Mr Ohanyere (the suspect’s husband) be made to sign an undertaking that henceforth, neither himself nor his hired hands will physically or psychologically harass, intimidate, abuse or threaten The PUNCH correspondent, Mr Chidiebube Okeoma, in the performance of his job or outside the court.”
