Staff and On-air personalities of Reach FM, 104.9 were on Friday stunned at the level of recklessness displayed by the staff of the Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA), on Friday stormed the station heavily armed with machetes, guns and amulets to enforce a shut -down of the station without prior notice.
The shutdown came shortly after representatives of some residents around the Amakohia area appeared on a local station programme, (Naija Talks aka Voice of Igbo) to complain about their home’s alleged illegal demolition of OCDA without any prior notice of ejection served to them.
In a chat with the General Manager of Reach FM, Mr Idemudia Alapa on Friday afternoon, he said the program on air around 10:45 AM is focused on demolition cases in the Owerri metropolis by the OCDA.
Alapa said a pastor whose church was demolished was on air to lament how his property was brought down by the state agency without notice served him. According to Alapa, a call was put through to the Live broadcast by someone who alleged that he was a staff of the OCDA and the station offered to give the agency one hour on Monday, July 5, 2021, to explain to Owerri citizens why the demolition was effected.
A shocked Alapa revealed that at about some minutes after the programme was a rounded-off staff of the OCDA numbering about forty armed with machetes, guns and amulets stormed the Reach FM premises and descended on anyone they could lay their hands on.
According to him, “I and about six other persons which includes the Admin Manager, the station’s marketer, an OAP and some other persons were injured in the confusion..
“Right now I have an injury on my chest and the admin person who tried to make a call with her phone was overpowered, the phone seized and she was beaten blue-black
“The OCDA staff who acted exactly like thugs stole personal belongings like cash, laptops and other things we can’t remember right now”
Alapa also said upon enquiry to ascertain why the station was shut down, the Managing Director of OCDA, Innocent Ikpamezie had earlier alleged that the station had arranged people to come on air and throw invectives at him, but a notice posted on the station wall purportedly read “failure to show approval’.
