Published 11th Nov, 2022

By Sodeeq Atanda

Some journalists were manhandled and bundled away by security operatives in Delta State on the orders of the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, on Thursday during an inspection visit to the collapsed section of the ongoing construction of a building at Stephen Keshi International Stadium where the forthcoming National Sports Festival is to hold.

According to The Punch, the building collapse, said to have been caused by a crane at the site, led to injuries to many.

In discharging their duty, the journalists who went to assess the situation met an unfriendly situation, as Okowa and Tonobok Okowa, the chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission, ordered them out of the scene.

Okowa reportedly said, “Take them out of this place; journalists are not needed.”

When the security operatives did not immediately carry out the order, Okowa retorted, saying “Are they still here? Collect their gadgets and bundle them out of here.”

Enforcing his orders, the officers beat up and chased out the journalists from the premises.

Although it is not clear at the moment if the journalists’ gadgets were damaged or lost in the process, some construction workers were said to have sustained some injuries.

Sunday Dare, the Sports Minister, was at the stadium to assess the level of work going on ahead of November 28, 2022 when the sports festival would commence.

In his comments on the situation, Olise Ifeajika, the governor’s chief press secretary, explained: “Nobody died, nobody injured; it was a section of the multi-purpose sports hall and shooting range storeyed building that caved in as a result of a crane.

“It was the crane that pulled the section of the building down while delivering materials at the building.”

Charles Aniagwu, the commissioner of information, also said the collapse occurred when the operator misodered the crane and consequently, the equipment bumped on one of the floors of the storey building. However, he said only one person had some injusries.

The Federal Ministry of Sports and Youths Development had approved the 2022 sports festival, tagged ‘Asaba 2022’, to be hosted by Delta State government through a memorandum of understanding signed between Dare and Okowa on December 20, 2021.

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