NUJ Condemns Killing of NTA Staff by Unknown Assailants in Kogi

• 21-year-old boy kills father

By Ibrahim Oyewale

The Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), Kogi State Council, has condemned the gruesome murder of a Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) staff member, Chukwu Obiahu, in Okene, Kogi State.

Late Obiahu was allegedly stoned to death last Tuesday evening by unknown assailants shortly after he closed from work.

While speaking to journalists at a press conference yesterday, the state NUJ chairman, Momohjimoh Adeiza, called on security agencies to unravel the circumstances behind the death of the late NTA engineer.

He described the late engineer as a gentle man whose life was cut short by criminals.

While commiserating with the NTA management over the loss, Adeiza observed that it has become very difficult for many Nigerians to go about their legitimate businesses freely.

He said: “A young man who went to work to do his legitimate job was killed on his way home. It is so sad! Very unfortunate! At this juncture, I will want to call the Nigerian police to do everything possible to unravel the circumstances behind the death of that young man.

“Also, it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to do their legitimate business anywhere in Nigeria today. From the available information, he was a staff of NTA who closed at the end of the day and was going back home, and in the process, he was killed. I want to commiserate with the family of the deceased and the entire NTA staff and management all over the country over the unfortunate incident.

“Like I said, the government should urgently protect every Nigerian, including the media and its professionals. If the deceased had been provided with adequate cover, I believe what happened should not have happened.

“What we heard is that he closed late from work, and he was going home unprotected, as there was no vehicle. If somebody must close from work at that ungodly hour of the night, something should be done for him or her to go home safely. I want to call on media owners to provide vehicles to convey their staff to their various destinations to avert future occurrence of this ugly incident.”

Meanwhile, teenager, Mohammed Yusuf, 21, was last Wednesday alleged to have killed his father, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, after inflicting serious injuries on his head in an attack in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

THISDAY authoritatively gathered that Yusuf, a suspected drug addict, attacked his father at about 9 p.m. at Fagae area in Lokoja.

It was learnt that after the attack, his siblings rushed their father, who received a deep cut on his head from the said attack, to a private hospital for treatment.

The father, Ibrahim, was said to have died in the early hours of yesterday on his hospital bed, and has since been buried.

The state Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), DSP William Aya, who confirmed the incident, stated that the operatives of the command have arrested Yusuf, who is helping police to unravel circumstances that led him to attack his late father.

Aya explained that the police have immediately commenced investigation while the suspect remains in their custody.