Four-member gang of armed robbers and vandals have reportedly attacked Radio Nigeria Harmony 103.5 FM station in Idofian, in the Ifelodun local government area of Kwara State on Tuesday, destroyed armoured cables and carted away valuable items.
Tribune Online gathered that the vandals, who rode on two motorcycles, launched the attack at about 4:00am on Tuesday, after beating and successfully tying the night guard up.
It was gathered that the hoodlums also went away with phones of the officers on duty.
The FM frequency station, owned by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), has shut operation, following the damaged cables.
Speaking with journalists, the assistant director for Programme, who represented the General Manager of the station, Hajia Binta Abubakar Mora, expressed displeasure over the attack, saying that the attack constitutes a great threat to the broadcast industry in Nigeria.
“This is a great threat to the broadcasting industry in Nigeria. This has earlier happened to our sister station in Lokoja (Kogi) and even in Lafia (Nasarawa). As it is now, we are off air. The damage has been done. The affected armored cables are very expensive. What it will take to fix this is something that has become a burden on the management,” she told reporters after conducting them around their premises.
“However, the lives of our staff who were on duty when the incident happened is worth more than whatever they have damaged. Because if anything otherwise had happened, it would have been a very sad story. We thank the Almighty God that it didn’t go beyond this”.
Hajia Mora, who expressed concerns on the location of the station, called on the federal government to come to their aid to enable them resume operation.
She also called on the government to assist in making their working environment more safe and conducive to work in, saying the location is not friendly enough.
“For us here in Harmony FM, our location is not friendly. You can see that we are isolated. From here we cannot even sight the orphanage home building that is next to us. This place is in total darkness. If you come here after 6pm you will worry for those who work here. So, it is something the federal government needs to assist us with, and to fortify our security architecture.
“I think this is an opportunity to call on the federal government to help to fortify the security architecture in all its media organizations including ours. Because the majority of FRCN stations are located outside state capitals. We need a lot of security here and stable electricity to check crime tendencies”, she added.
Wasiu Zubair, the night guard on duty, said the vandals met him on arrival around 2:30am, and asked him how many of them were around, before collecting his phone, tying him and beating him up.
“Around 2.30am at night, I heard dog backing and went out to check everywhere. I saw some people, like four, who later opened my door forcefully. They asked me in Hausa – how many of us are in the office? I told them I am the only person. They entered the main office and saw another person and tied our legs, covered our mouths and collected my phone before beating me up,” he testified.
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