Suspected political thugs on Friday night invaded a popular hotel in the Orazi axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, disrupting a live Arise TV interview.
According to PUNCH, the incident occurred while an Arise TV crew was conducting a live interview with a former Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, Dr. Leloonu Nwibubasa, who was speaking on the political situation in the state.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants, who were reportedly armed, stormed the hotel at about 9:15 p.m., breaking into several rooms in an apparent search for the former commissioner and the Arise TV cameraman.
A witness said the attackers chanted in their local language, forced doors open and seized people’s phones, causing panic among hotel staff and guests, many of whom fled the premises.
It was gathered that the thugs eventually reached the venue of the interview, where they allegedly threatened Dr. Nwibubasa and members of the Arise TV crew, forcing the live broadcast to be abruptly halted.
One of the journalists with the Arise TV team told our correspondent that he received a distress call from his colleague and immediately rushed to the hotel, while also alerting the police control room and other colleagues.
He said that by the time he arrived, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the area and his men were already on ground. With the assistance of the hotel manager, the police safely escorted the former commissioner and the journalists out of the hotel and took them to the Kala Police Station.
The journalist added that as of the time of filing this report, the police had taken statements from those involved, while investigations into the incident were ongoing.
