Journalists covering the legislature have complained the House Speaker Bhofal Chambers to Media Council of the Press Union of Liberia for his alleged action of ordering his security officers to ‘drag legislative reporters out’. The journalists had gone to ask Mr. Chambers for copy of his academic credentials.
In a statement issued by the journalists said, “We, E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor of New Dawn Newspaper, Austin Kawah of Prime, Sandi Kamara of the Institute For Research and Democratic Development (IREDD) and Jackson C. Clay, Jr, of New Republic Newspaper write to formally complain the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Bhofal Chambers for physically attacking us at his capitol building office.”
According to the two page communication dated March 30 and submitted to Rev. Emmanuel Bowier who chairs the council states, the reporters said, “…we had gone to the building to obtain what we got to understand was an updated copy of the Speaker’s profile. Upon our arrival we met the Director of Press at the House of Representatives, Isaac Redd who following our request instructed his Deputy, Nelson Garr to accompany us to the office of the Speaker,” the letter said.
But the reporters noted that the Speaker’s hand was on the door and his body between the office and the corridor. The Speaker then ordered the security officers assigned to him, including an Emergency Response Unit Officer, “to ensure we leave the building”.
In response to the order the ERU Officer grabbed journalist Daygbor and pushed him down the stairs and if it was not for the rest of the journalists Daygbor would have landed down possibly with some body parts broken.
The letter explains that the security began assaulting the reporters by physically pushing them out of the office of the Speaker and the Capitol Building as a whole, a situation that brought serious embarrassment to the reporters.
