.By Jennifer John
A journalist and publisher of Newsfield Magazine/Newspapers, Mr Finian Chucks was on Thursday manhandled beaten up in Owerri, the Imo State capital by men said to be loyal to the member representing Obowo in Imo State House of Assembly, Hon. Kennedy Ibe.
Our correspondent understands that Ibe and Chuks who was once his media aide have been having a running battle over their previous association.
The present problem was said to have arisen from a story published by Chuks in his Magazine/Newspaper in which Ibe was accused of being behind the running battle between the Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Chiji Collins and a former member of the House, Hon Lawman Duruji which has largely scandalised the Speaker. Ibe was said to have seen the publication as malicious and injurious to his person.
The publisher, Chuks who claimed to have been getting threat messages from Kennedy Ibe narrated how the alleged thugs of Ibe, led by one Innocent Okoro on sighting him at the Imo State All Progressive Congress (APC) office where he had gone to cover the decamping of some PDP members to the APC, grabbed him, took his handset, smashed it on the ground while brutally beating him to stupor.
Chuks told our correspondent that multiple injuries were inflicted on his body.
“This is exactly the same thing I wrote in my publications, that Kennedy Ibe is a violent man who harbours thugs. The record of the people he recently sent to kill me has been electronically documented and my people recorded it. He said they should gun me down. It was captured and the record has been sent to the State Security Service.
“I call on the Governor of the State, Senator Hope Uzodinma to please intervene in this, my life is in danger.
“Does it mean that we cannot report the happenings in our society or tell people to amend their ways. This assault his usual antics deployed to shut public scrutiny of his questionable antecedents”.
