A member of the Imo State House of Assembly, Hon Kennedy Ibeh, who represents Obowo State Constituency, is at the verge of being sanctioned if their pleas of journalists to be state legislature are anything to go by.
Ibe is being accused of masterminding attack on a journalist in the state which sparked off a protest against him by calling the House leadership to sanction him for dishourable acts.
A cross sections of some practicing journalists in Imo State under the platform of “Guild of Imo Field Journalists, GIFJ”, was on Wed .June 3rd 2020, took to a very peaceful protest to the Imo State House of Assembly, demanding the urgent suspension of the lawmaker representing Obowo State Constituency, Hon. Barr Kennedy Ibeh, for beating and battering their colleague, Comr. Finian Chuks, the Publisher of Newsfield Newspaper Owerri.
The aggrieved-protesting journalists who were led by their Chairman, Guild of Imo Field Journalists, GIFJ, Comr Kelechi Ugo, collectively expressed dissatisfaction over what they described as injustice, intimidation and harassment by politicians especially as they frowned at the action of the lawmaker against their colleague, Finian Chuks, by some thugs suspected to have been sponsored by the lawmaker.
“We are here on a peaceful protest to inform the general public and the good people of Imo State that the beating of Comr. Finian Chuks,(our colleague in the media industry) is unaccepted and can never be cherished any more by anybody or group of people. We are also not happy on manner in-which the journalists was humiliated and beaten up by thugs. That means, journalists operating in Imo State does not have freedom of information any more”, Comr. Ugo submitted.
It could be recalled that Comr. Finian Chuks was brutally battered by Hon. Kennedy Ibeh’s thugs at Imo APC Secretariat on Thursday 28th May 2020 during the political party of some members of Imo PDP into APC.
The journalists who were armed with various placards inscriptions which includes:” Suspend Hon. Kennedy Ibeh now, Journalists are no longer safe in Imo State, Suspend Obowo State Lawmaker now…Journalists call for help, and Enough is enough”.
Responding, the Imo House of Assembly member representing Oru-West, Hon. Barr. Dominic Ezerioha, who is also the House Committee Chairman on Information/Judiciary, while addressing the protesting journalists, expressed worry over beating of the journalists but called on the newsmen to always write on the real truth and stop projecting falsehoods.
Barr. Ezerioha, therefore appealed to the newsmen to go back to their various media organizations even as he assured to tow the line of peace.
Other lawmakers who accompanied him to the protest ground includes:”the IMHA member for Isu, Hon. Mrs Ngozi Obiefule, and that of Nkwerre State Constituency, Hon. Prince Obinna Okwarra, who jointly appealed to journalists to calm down, even as they assured the press that the House must look into the matter.
