Osinbajo’s aides beat up Vanguard photojournalist
Barely 24 hours after reported sack of 35 staff attached to the office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a photojournalist with the Vanguard Newspapers, attached to Aso Rock Villa, Abayomi Adeshida, was on Thursday morning beaten up by security details of the Vice President.
The incident took place at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, during the opening session of the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), headed by Abike Dabiri-erewa.
Adeshida, while narrating his experience to journalists, said he was taking photographs of the Vice President who was taking a tour of the exhibition stands at the event when five personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS) suddenly pounced on him as Osinbajo was being presented a copy of magazine as souvenir at a particular stand.
Adeshida said he was not told his supposed infraction as he was not in any way obstructing the event or doing anything out of the ordinary before the security details started hitting him, dragged him over the floor and damaged his professional camera, right in the presence of the Vice President.
“I was shocked when these DSS started beating me for no apparent reason. They tore off my Presidential Villa accreditation tag on the shirt and dragged me on the floor while hitting me and kicking me.
“I believe they would have done much worse if not for the intervention of the Vice President’s Aide-de-camp (ADC), who I noticed was making hand movements for them to leave me alone.
“I am feeling pains all over my body and a particular sever pain on my right leg on which I don’t even know what they hit me with,” the Adeshida said before he headed for the hospital.
No other aides of the Vice President made efforts to stop the humiliation of the journalist in the presence of Osibanjo, who may have been embarrassed by the situation.
The incident happened a day after 35 aides of the Vice President were reported sacked on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is away on a private visit to the United Kingdom.