Spotlight on Media Decline After Nigerian Journalist's Death

Vanguard newspaper journalist Tordue Salem who went missing for almost a month, has been found dead. Nigerian police said that a hit-and-run driver has been arrested in connection with his death. According to the police, Salem's body was found in a mortuary at Wuse General Hospital in Abuja. This incident has fuelled speculation that Salem may have been murdered.

While the circumstances around Salem's death remain unclear, the Nigerian Union of Journalists have demanded an independent investigation.

Journalists in Nigeria have increasingly been attacked, abducted, or detained because of their reporting.

In October 2021, journalists were manhandled and barred from covering proceedings in the ongoing trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by government security operatives.

Also in October 2021, during the one-year anniversary of the nationwide #EndSARS protests against police brutality and human rights violations, armed police personnel teargassed and arrested journalists in Lagos and Abuja. 

InFocus

Torkwase Kuraun, Sister of missing journalist Tordue Salem, looks at pictures of him in the family photo album at her home in Abuja, Nov. 4, 2021.

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