Alambo Datonye, a correspondent of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), has petitioned the authorities of Department of State Services (DSS) over threat to his life by a personnel of the agency.
Datonye who was allegedly brutalised on February 17, is finding difficult to cope after he was punched on the eye by the DSS official.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Datonye, in a petition dated Feb. 20 addressed to the State Director of DSS in Bayelsa and copied to the Director-General of the Service, demanded apology for the assault.
Datonye, who is also the chairman, Sports Writers’ Association of Nigeria (SWAN) in Bayelsa, stated in the petition that the unidentified DSS officer, had threatened to shoot him.
According to him, the officer punched him on the right eye and threatened to kill him.
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“I had gone to politely explain to one of the security personnel that the journalists were duly accredited to cover the event and should be given access to perform their duties.
“But one of the two DSS personnel at the gate started pushing me after which he punched my right eye.
“After assaulting me, he went further to cork his gun and threatened to kill me, screaming that he was a devil and could shoot me.
“Since that brutality was meted out to me, I have vomited a couple of times and currently having feverish feelings.
“I am at the moment finding it difficult to see clearly with my right eye where the suspected Department of State Services personnel punched me.
“This is affecting my work on a daily basis and giving me a challenge in my day-to-day functions both at home and outside,” the petition read in part.
Datonye also demanded that the DSS official should be fished out and brought to book.
He further demanded an unreserved apology from the DSS for the harassment of a law-abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the discharge of his lawful duties.
In a reaction, the state NUJ Chairman, Mr. John Angese, described the attack as “barbaric, cruel and unfortunate in a democratic setting.”
He urged the relevant authorities to investigate, arrest and prosecute the security official involved, to serve as a deterrent to other overzealous DSS officials.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
