MY ORDEAL AS A PHOTOJOURNALIST

The truth of the matter.

Gbemile Oluwatosin

It’s 2PM already, no fuel, no light, thank God there is still food to eat in Nigeria. My ordeal inside the black maria continues, thank God I smuggled in my phone which served as a saving grace. Come to think of it, if I wasn’t with my small phone what would have happened? My camera, android phone and ID card were all seized from me. The small phone which i took in was what those people docked inside the black maria alongside me used in contacting their families. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.

 

 Video credit; Folami Concept

When has it become a criminal offense to capture a force personnel on camera, when they are already in the public domain? This was my response when the police officer arrested me, immediately I became helpless because the policemen were with gun, the annoying aspect of the matter was when they started “flogging me like a student that refuse to do his assignment on time”.

In actual sense, I never had the intention of capturing the policemen on camera they unfortunately found themselve on my frame which I can’t control at that point in time, but I later knew the reason why they arrested me, which basically the public must not see (Broadcast) nor hear (Print) about it.

“Never argue with any Force men whenever they’re with gun, best option is to remain silent”, God forbid in the process of arguing with they shoot you, who will there to defend you?
As at 4PM, I was still in the black maria when my released had been ordered by the DPO of police, Lagos State thanks to the Provost of the Nigerian Institution of Journalism, NIJ, Gbemiga Ogunleye Online Editor of the Nation newspaper,Lekan Otufodunrin, the mavin crew star boy, Korede Bello,Ayodele Samuel Ayokunle Oloye, Owanbe CEO, Emmanuel Ola Abraham, Yewande Bidemi Yanju Uwala and those I could not remember their names.

Still inside the black maria, even without my camera to capture the illegal activities I still capturing the illegal activities the task force of the Nigerian Policemen were doing, they were busy extracting fuel from the tank of the seize Okadas into their small gallon, hmmm, no wonder I was arrested, what my camera can’t capture, my mouth would voice it out!.

Still on the road, waiting to regain my freedom, another set of young men were arrested and docked inside the black maria, out of my curiosity as a journalist I asked what happened, they said “I brought in my kegs to buy fuel, and they said I was a black market seller”.

So this is how some people find themselves inside black maria for the offence they didn’t commit, and they can only be granted free hearing at the court of law, and that’s when they have good lawyers to defend their case.