Fish out killers of journalist now, Edo NUJ charges security agencies

Jethro Ibileke/Benin

The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State chapter, has charged security agencies in the State to fish out killers of a Benin-based journalist, Lawrence Okojie.

The State Chairman of NUJ, Sir Roland Osakue, who gave the charge at a brief lying-in-state of the deceased at the State’s secretariat of the NUJ on Thursday, also promised to reward anyone who could provide information that could lead to the arrest of the killers of

He, however, did not give details of the reward.

Okojie, a reporter with the Benin Zonal office of Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), was murdered a few metres away from his residence, on July 8, 2017, by yet to be identified gunmen while on his way back from work.

Osakue, who wondered why security agencies in the State were yet to arrest the killers of the NTA staff, over one month after, assured that any information provided would be treated with utmost confidentiality.

He added that such information should be able to lead to unravel the killer or killers of the journalist.

Osakue called on the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and heads of other security agencies to provide adequate protection for the citizens, especially media professionals.

According to him, harmless and law-abiding citizens, like media practitioners, whose only weapons were their working tools, had been victims of criminally-minded individuals in the society, security agencies, political thugs and others.

The 33-year-old Lawrence Okojie, a native of Uromi, Esan North-East local government area, is survived by a wife and two children.