The Management of Channels Television, Nigeria’s prime national television station announced temporary closure of transmission of programmes on Wednesday.
The closure, according to a statement by the management follows the attack on its reporter, Mr Ayo Makinde, who was attacked in the precinct of Television Continental (TVC), while trying to verify the reported attack on the television station by hoodlums in the early hours of the day.
The station said it has no option that to temporarily shut down its transmission.
The statement said: “Channels Television is temporarily shutting down due to the imminent attack on our staff and operations.”
Though the station momentarily resumed operation at about 12.55, when it transmitted footage of violence that is taking place around the state following the aftermath of the invasion and killings of protesters by military operatives on Tuesday evening, the it went off air almost immediately thereafter.
Recall that the Lagos State Governor Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu had earlier in the day, transmitted through the station, a statewide broadcast in which he apologised and took responsibility for the carnage against Nigerian youths on the eve of Tuesday.
Sanwo-Olu who assured that everything would be done to unravel those behind the dastardly act, said he and other members of the executive council had throughout the night gone round the various hospitals where casualties of the incident are receiving treatment, even as he debunked news making the rounds in social media that scores had died in the incident.
He said as at Wednesday morning, the government has not received any report of any fatalities of the incident contrary to the reports making round in social media.