No fewer than 14 journalists from various media organisations were injured on Friday in a road accident while covering an inspection tour of projects by the North East Development Commission (NEDC) in Bauchi State.
The journalists were part of an NEDC delegation touring completed projects for inspection and handover to the Bauchi State Government when the accident occurred along the Yashi to Yelwan Duguri Road in Alkaleri Local Government Area.
Several of the journalists sustained serious injuries and were initially rushed to the Yelwan Duguri General Hospital for emergency treatment before being transferred to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, for further medical care.
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Journalists from Channels Television, Africa Independent Television (AIT), the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), and ARISE News were among those reported to have sustained severe injuries.
Following the incident, senior government officials including the Commissioner for Information, the Adviser on Media and Publicity, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bauchi State Council, and the Director of Media at the Government House visited the injured journalists at the hospital to assess their condition.
Ambulances were deployed to transport the most critically injured victims to the teaching hospital, while journalists with minor injuries were conveyed in government vehicles accompanying the delegation.