Some journalists in Ekiti state yesterday escaped being attacked as workers of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) staged a protest over unpaid allowances.
The incident occurred at the main gate of the institution where the workers gathered to stage the protest.
They were in the institution to cover the protest by the workers over their unpaid hazard allowance, Christmas bonus, salaries and some other allowances spanning two years.
The workers under the aegis of Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) trooped out in their large numbers, but became unruly as they bent on attacking some broadcast journalists they invited to cover the protest.
However, all efforts by some staff members who were believed to be the leadership of the university workers to wade in to the matter were rebuffed by the irate workers.
It was also gathered that some other staff of the institution were allegedly sponsored to scuttle the protest thereby putting the life of journalists covering the event in danger.
Some Cameras belonging to the journalists and other working gadgets were badly damaged as they scampered to safety because there was no security operatives on ground to arrest the situation.
When contacted the Public Relations officer of the institution, Adeyinka Ademuyiwa denied knowledge of the attack adding that he was not around when the protest occurred.
But the Chairman Nigeria Union of Journalists in Ekiti State Council, Comrade Rotimi Ojomoyela condemned the attack, saying that the Union will not tolerate any attack on journalists under any guise and for whatever reasons.
Ojomoyela noted that his colleagues were invited by the Union of the institution and were attacked by the people that invited them, describing such as irresponsible and reckless.
The NUJ chairman called on the union leaders of the school to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act failure of which the union will not hesitate to blacklist the activities of NASU and SSANU of the institution.
