Twenty-three journalists, who are members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ekiti State, narrowly escaped death, on Tuesday, when youths of Ikere-Ekiti community ambushed them and wanted to burn them inside the bus.
Also, the traditional ruler of the town, Ogoga of Ikere, Oba Adegoke Adegboye, escaped being lynched by irate residents.
But for the intervention of mobile policemen who were drafted to the community to checkmate the rampaging residents, the rioters would have succeeded in killing the journalists, as they had already produced petrol and matches to carry out the act.
Oba Adegboye was also reportedly spirited away from his palace by the police contingent, as rioters had mobi-lised to storm the palace and attack the monarch.
The youth and other members of the community engaged in violent protests to react to the announced relocation of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, to Efon Alaaye by the state government, at the weekend.
Their grouse with the journalists was that, according to them, they were “sent by Governor Segun Oni to spy on their activities.”