BY LEKE ADESERI, South West Regional Editor OLASUNKANMI AKONI, CHARLES KUMOLU & BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE
THE Office of the Public Defender, OPD, was created by the former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in 2000 to render free legal services to the less-privileged in the society regardless of their status, cultural or political affiliation and also to those whose fundamental human rights are being trampled upon.
It focuses on social economic services like child abuse, domestic violence cases, and issues relating to compensation, for instance, where someone is being unlawfully dismissed from service.
The office also handles cases relating to unlawful detention and harassment of innocent citizens by law enforcement agents. Following the alleged assault on Leadership Newspaper photo Journalist, Mr. Benedict Uwalaka last Thursday, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State directed the office to take up the case in order to bring the culprits to book.
Release of the corpses
(http://vml1.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Brutal.jpg?9d7bd4) (http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/08/dana-plane-crash-journalists-attacked-as-victims-families-collect-bodies/brutal/)A Photo journalist with the Leadership Newspapers, Mr Benedict Uwalaka was beaten and brutally assaulted at the Ikeja General Hospital (LASUTH), Lagos. Photo by Shola Oyelese The governor also directed that the state's Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye should ensure that justice is done. The incident happened when Uwalaka was on coverage of the release of corpses of those that lost their lives in the ill fated Dana air crash at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital,LASUTH, to their families and relatives.
MRA reacts: Meantime, the Media Rights Agenda, MRA, has condemned the brutal and violent attack on the photojournalist. MRA described the action of the mortuary attendants as criminal and inexcusable under any circumstance. It called on the hospital management and Lagos State Government to take decisive action to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Mr Richard Akinnola — Human Rights Activist: The issue is not only a matter of assault and battery but also attempted murder. This is not a matter of just an apology by the state government but for those characters to be brought to book. Their action is despicable and the characters are easily identifiable in the television. They must be charged to court and the case pursued to a logical conclusion. It must not be swept under the carpet.
Victim should head to court —Aturu
Human rights activist, Bamidele Aturu described the act as barbaric, insisting that the culprits be made to face the law. He said: "That is barbarism on the part of those Lagos State hospital official. The Lagos State governmental should investigate the matter and bring the culprits to book. There is no way anybody can justify the rationale of beating a journalist, who was performing his lawful duty. Journalists are constitutionally backed to perform their duties, so preventing them from doing that is against the law. We are living in a democratic setting and not a jungle, so what those hospital staff did was barbaric. You don't brutalise journalists, whose duty it is to inform and educate the society. The victim should seek redress in the law court, because his fundamental human rights had been tapered with by those people who are agents of Lagos state government. He should seek compensation from his attackers."
Mr Ralph Nwoke — A Lawyer: It is very clear that it is assault. The journalist can sue or the state can take criminal proceeding against the perpetrators. Even when the state takes criminal proceeding, that does not stop the journalist from suing because he was assaulted. The problem usually is that when things like this happen, nobody pays for it and that will continue to foster the culture of impunity. People believe they can do anything and get away with it. But if punishments are meted out, next time it will serve as a deterrent for other people.
Mrs Funmi Falana: The attitude of the hospital officials as seen on the television and on the print was uncalled for and uncivilised. The journalist was treated badly and he must seek redress to teach others a lesson to avoid a future occurrence.
The hospital officials are expected to know that apart from the fact that LASUTH is a public facility, the journalists have every right to cover the issue involved, that is the Dana crash. Even if there will be exceptions either from the family or the authority, it shouldn't have been the way it was handled by the officials.
They should be aware of the Freedom of Information Law which empowers Nigerians to have access to reasonable information. So the journalists have the right in the course of performing their constitutional duty to visit that activity going on that day. So, the attack is a gross violation of his fundamental rights, which must not go unchallenged.
Vanguard Nigeria