In November 2022, the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) stated that 19 Nigerian journalists were brutally murdered since Nigeria’s return to democracy in May 1999.
Pelumi was reportedly shot dead by police officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force, who raided the Abattoir area of the state where he had gone to interview some traders whose shops were looted by hoodlums.More than two years after, the grief is still fresh. Aside from the difficulty in getting justice, his bereaved mother is devastated Pelumi’s corpse has not been released by the Lagos State Government for burial.
“We are poor people. Schools were on holiday then due to the COVID-19 lockdown and he was working with the TV station to raise some funds to buy books,” the grieving mother continued, trying to suppress tears. Asked why the corpse has not been released, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, said “the mother can go to the Yaba mortuary with proof of evidence. She should go for the DNA result.”
In what was suspected to be an assassination, the assailants only went away with his phone and laptop and did not attack other residents within the compound. Although some suspects were arrested and paraded by the Lagos State Police Command, nothing was heard of the case afterwards. “We all know what is supposed to be done, but I never heard somebody was jailed because of the matter. But if the police feel justice has been served, I leave everything to God,” she remarked solemnly.Recalling how the murder occurred, the widow said she had to weather the storm and step in to fill the vacuum left by her husband’s sudden death.
“The burden of taking care of the children is on me, but I must pick up the challenge. What I can do, I do and leave the ones I can’t to God. Bayo was a loving father and husband. He was the eyes of the extended family and made sure everyone was happy.”Like Pelumi and Bayo’s cases, the mystery behind the gruesome killing of Zakariyah Isa, a reporter with the Nigerian Television Authority, has remained unresolved since October 2011.
Mrs Isa revealed that before the incident, they depended on her husband’s income to eke out a living, noting that his death had further impoverished the family. “I miss my dad so much. Sometimes when I see my friend’s fathers buy things for them and I feel sad and wish my father is alive too. I think of him anytime I’m alone,” the 14-year-old girl disclosed.
“No effort to ensure justice because we don’t have people who can fight for our cause. We can’t tell the government what to do. But I believe God will fight on our behalf,” he added.esides Nigeria, in English-speaking West African countries comprising Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia, The Gambia and part of Cameroon, at least 25 journalists have been killed in controversial circumstances, records have shown.
“We opened fire, myself, Alieu Jen and Sana Manjang,” Lieutenant Malick Jatta said at the public hearing. “I am deeply concerned about the circumstances surrounding the death of Samuel Wazizi,” the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, had said, calling on the authorities of Cameroon to investigate the death.aily Trust reached out to the Police Public Relations Officers in Lagos, Adamawa and Borno to find out the current status of the cases tracked by this paper, but none of them could give updates for more than a week.
Meanwhile, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights says there is a need for an overhaul of the country’s criminal justice system to ensure prompt prosecution and dispensation of justice. He observed that too often, journalists in Nigeria experienced threat or violent attacks and in some cases killings, without those responsible being held accountable.“Impunity is a major issue. What we really need to see from the authorities – those with the mandate to investigate crime against journalists and curb impunity – is the political will to act and deliver on that mandate,” he told Daily Trust.
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