NUJ Protests Journalists’ Murder

NUJ Protests Journalists’ Murder

• Urges Jonathan to act now • Fashola condemns killings
By Gboyega Akinsanmi, 05.04.2010

Scores of journalists yesterday stormed the streets of Lagos, protesting the incessant killing of their colleagues in the last two decades while calling the Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and the Nigeria Police to ensure that the masterminds of all the unresolved murders in the country are brought to book.
NUJ President, Alhaji Mohammed Garba led the peaceful march from the Ladi Lawal Press Centre through Head Office of NewsWatch Magazine to Lagos State Police Command and ended at the Lagos State Government House in Marina alongside Chairman, NUJ Lagos Council, Mr. Wahab Oba, Chairman and National Secretary-General, Mr. Liman Shuiab among others.

The protest caused a major traffic build-up along Billing Way in Alausa and Kodeso Street in Ikeja Central as some hundreds of journalists dressed in back T-shirts and trousers were marching peacefully, holding placards of diverse inscriptions and singing dirges and requiems in honour of their murdered colleagues.
The inscription of their placards read in part: “Journalists are no longer safe in Nigeria. Killers of our colleagues will not go unpunished. Enough is enough: stop the killing. God, protect us from the wicked enemies of the pen profession. Several years after, killers of Dele Giwa, Bagauda Kaltho, Abayomi Ogundeji, Godwin Agboroko, Omololu Falobi and Bayo Ohu are yet to be found.

 “Justice delayed is justice denied. Inspector-General of Police (IGP), save our soul. Journalists say no to the incessant killing of colleagues. We want justice to prevail. Dele Giwa, Bagauda Kaltho, Bayo Ohu, Omololu Falobi, Edo Sule Ugbagwu, Abayomi Ogundeji and Godwin Agboroko, your killers will not know peace. State of blood: who killed our colleagues,” the placards read.
Speaking at the Lagos State Police Command, Garba expressed profound reservations on the failure of the Nigeria Police to bring the masterminds of all unresolved murders in the murder to book, stating that the trend “continues because no killers of our colleagues have been found since 1986 when Dele Giwa was killed.

 “We are disturbed, grieved and worried with the increasing cases of harassment, intimidation and killing that continually confront journalists in Nigeria. Despite the killings, no culprits have been brought to book. it not only dents the image of Nigeria, but also puts Nigeria on the top of the list of countries in the cases of abuse of press freedom in West Africa apart from The Gambia.
“Journalists are no longer safe. We believe that inability of Nigeria’s security operatives to arrest the killers of our colleagues are responsible for the trend to continue unabated. We embarked on this protest to mark the 2010 World Press Day because we are disturbed about the situation of media killings in Nigeria.

“Going by the murder trend in the media from Dele Giwa, we are worried because our security agencies are yet to unravel the killers of this dastardly act several years after the sad occurrences and we chose Lagos because majority of the cases occurred here. The killings are a deliberate ploy of the political office-holders to prevent us from discharging our responsibilities,” Garba said.

While receiving a two-page protest letter from the NUJ National Executive, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) yesterday condemned the incessant killing of journalists in the country, adding that the trend “portends grave danger to the nation's nascent democracy. There is urgent need to regulate telephone sim cards procured for proper identification”.
According to him, the government at all levels should be prepared to spend resources in building forensic labs as a way of getting evidence against the perpetrators of heinous crimes. Every time the life of a person is lost in the state. It diminishes me as a governor. We need to increase our security capacities in protecting lives and property as well as bursting crimes.

Fashola said no amount of money is too much to invest in security. I sincerely empathise with you on the loss of your colleagues and families.
Receiving a two-page letter of protest, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Marvel Akpoyibo, expressed concern over the incessant killings of journalists revealing that the police had begun a full-scale full scale investigation into the murder of Edo Ugbagwu of The Nation Newspapers, killed a fortnight ago. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Solomon Aranse received the letter on behalf of Akpoyibo.

He added that the death of any person “diminishes humanity. We are greatly worried and pained. We are working tirelessly to bring the perpetrators to book. We would do everything humanly possible. We are out to ensure that these spate of killings stop. The police are currently working with some journalists to fish out the killers of some of the slain journalists”.