Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Cross River State have been accused of assaulting a Radio Nigeria journalist, Prince Alobi.
The incident occurred during an operation along Lemna Road, Calabar, on Monday.
The agency said its personnel came under attack from a mob at the scene.
Alobi, a broadcast journalist with Radio Nigeria’s Canaan City FM 99.5, said he was assaulted after stepping out of his nearby office to cover the incident at Parliamentary Extension, near Northwest Filling Station, at about 3pm.
According to him, he heard gunshots and went to investigate after informing his station that he intended to report the development.
He alleged that an NDLEA operative slapped him, causing him to lose consciousness.
“I was screaming, ‘I am a press man,’ but the beating continued. I was bundled and thrown into the trunk of their Hilux, while they collected my iPhones and smashed them both,” he said.
Alobi said the alleged assault left him with severe pains, particularly around his ribs, and disrupted his work after his phones were damaged. He called for accountability over the incident.
However, the Officer-in-Charge of the NDLEA Dragon Squad in Cross River, Assistant Commander of Narcotics Kabiru Abdullahi, said the operatives were attacked by a mob while attempting to arrest suspected drug dealers during a motorised stop-and-search patrol.
Abdullahi said the team intercepted a motorcycle carrying a man and two women and recovered a whitish substance suspected to be methamphetamine, popularly known as ice, from their belongings.
He alleged that three other men arrived and incited a crowd against the officers after the suspects resisted the search.
He said the crowd attacked the operatives with sticks, stones and pieces of wood, injuring some personnel and attempting to free the suspects.
According to him, one officer was taken to hospital after being stoned, while the initial suspects escaped during the violence.
Abdullahi said three persons allegedly involved in instigating the attack were subsequently arrested.
The agency, he said, also recovered two grammes of suspected methamphetamine and one gramme of a substance suspected to be synthetic cannabinoid, locally called Colorado, as exhibits.
When contacted, the NDLEA Cross River Command’s Public Relations Officer, Sebastian Lebo acknowledged the incident.
He said the command was taking steps to address it.
He said Alobi would be compensated and his damaged phones replaced, adding that an official statement would be issued.