The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today condemned the kidnapping of OLubunmi Oke, a television journalist in Nigeria. According to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), an IFJ affiliate, the reporter and presenter with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), her baby and maid were taken Thursday March 21 by four men who blocked her car as she was leaving her office in Akure, the capital of Ondo state (South West). Her baby and maid were released later while the car was found in another town. The reason of the kidnapping is unknown.“We are deeply concerned by the kidnapping of our colleague. We call on security forces to do their best to ensure her safe return. We stand in solidarity with her family and colleagues,” said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa director.
The IFJ raises concern about the personal security of journalists in this context of violence in some parts of the country. On 26 April 2012, two suicide car bombs targeted offices of Nigerian newspaper This Day in Abuja and a Media house in Kaduna. Arrests of journalists are also frequent. On 24 December 2012, journalists Musa Muhammad Awwal and Aliyu Saleh from weekly Al-Mizan, a Hausa-language newspaper, were arrested and detained by the security forces without clear charges. They have since been released. The journalist Ikechukwu Udendu, editor of Anambra News , a monthly newspaper, was shot dead on Saturday 12 January 2013 by unknown persons.
“We call on journalists to have personal safety protocol and ask authorities to bring to court all perpetrators of attacks against journalists,” Baglo added.
For more information please contact: +221 33 867 95 86/87
The IFJ represents more than 600.000 Journalists in 134 countries in the World
IFJ Condemns Kidnapping of TV Journalist in Nigeria
No comments:
Post a Comment