The excuse given by a foreigner who two weeks ago sent a short message service (SMS) to four journalists in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, is as important or dangerous as the rising tide of heinous killings of journalists. as the goal to be achieved by the message.
Unidentified people said they were ready to kill the four journalists because successive reports against former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chair Professor Maurice Yiwu finally succeeded in getting the government to fire him. Former Federal House of Representatives spokeswoman Ms. Patricia Etech has publicly stated that her biggest enemy is journalists, and more directly: “I will not talk to you (journalists); You were my worst enemy forever when I went to the graveyard. “There are many people who do not openly express their hatred for journalists but show no mercy when it comes to removing them.
The blatant assault and harassment of journalists performing their legal duties, even by security forces close to the great men or women of the latter days, adds a serious dimension to the generally dangerous terrain in which journalists work. A direct example of the inhumane treatment of journalists in broad daylight is the recent detention of Adeola Tukuru, a Peoples Daily reporter, in a cage that had not been used for nearly three hours, according to Aviation Minister Ms. Fidelia Njeze. .
Shortly thereafter, a female judge, Ms. Zainab Bashir, ordered the assembled journalists to leave the courtroom to cover the case at her court, and even went so far as to instruct her security details, one of which, a correspondent for The Guardian newspaper to handcuff, Mr. Lemi Ugbegbe. Judge Zainab shouted at her bodyguard, "Put down his handcuffs and take him to jail. Tomorrow I will hear accusations of disrespecting him. I am not a friend of journalists ... let me teach them a lesson."
It was only on Wednesday last week that unidentified individuals attacked the Daily Trust offices in Joss, the capital of the highlands, breaking windows and destroying other valuables without knowing the attacker's mission. All of this speaks volumes about the subdued anger and hatred of violence that fueled a wave of journalist killings across the country. At the heart of such killings is a policy deeply rooted in personal and collective revenge.
Prior to 1986, Nigerian journalists had the luxury of hearing the story of a journalist's murder from afar. Then they heard about the shooting of Mr. Charles Horman, a freelance journalist in Chile on September 17, 1973 in the United States, who was deemed too dangerous for his life because he knew too much about America's lead role, Alede. That's when they hear the assassination squad visit a journalist's home or office, write "bad" stories about the governments of Chile, Guatemala and El Salvador, and shoot anything that moves in broad daylight.
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