Bayo Ohu: Behind unanswered questions
On that fateful day, Ohu was said to be working on a story on his laptop in his large sitting room where he was attacked in the presence of his little children who said that they saw him fighting with the men gunmen led by a lady. The gunmen, three of whom wore jalamia (Moslem […]
On that fateful day, Ohu was said to be working on a story on his laptop in his large sitting room where he was attacked in the presence of his little children who said that they saw him fighting with the men gunmen led by a lady.
The gunmen, three of whom wore jalamia (Moslem casual wear), reportedly ran to the main entrance of Ohu’s flat, forced their way in and rained bullets on him at a close range.
The killers were not in a hurry as they waited reportedly to wash blood of their feet and legs before leaving the house.
There was blood everywhere. His sitting room, kitchen, terrace and the car park were covered with his blood.
Ohu’s wife, a church worker at a Redeem Church of God left home a few minutes before 7.00an. The murder happened at around 7.30am.
Another neighbour, who preferred anonymity, said he saw the killers from a vantage point of his house, hinting that they operated with military precision. The landlady of the one-storey building, who was obviously still in shock, said she was also held at gunpoint by the robbers before they proceeded to kill Ohu.
The editor of The Guardian, Debo Adeshina described Ohu as a wonderful gentle man. “Because he was big, I used to joke about his big stomach. I didn’t know anything controversial about him. The tragedy of this is that he didn’t live to tell what could have been the cause of this. Then we could have stopped guessing and know what really happened. First and foremost, I was so devastated when I was called. They said he had been shot and they needed some kind of statement from the management before he could be treated at the hospital. I rushed to the hospital, thinking it was the usual thing (armed robbery) not knowing it was this bad.”
Adeshina said Ohu’s co- tenant, a woman, was calling him, asking whether he was already at the hospital, because he was losing blood.. But when he got there, he was already dead.
“I saw the bullet wounds on his chest, on his side, all over him. Whether this was assassination, a robbery, whatever it is, it is a tragedy for a man with five children”
On whether he was working on a story that could have pitched him against some people, the editor said he was not aware of “any controversial story, neither from me or from his fellow editors. But like I said, we can only allow the police to do their job. Only the police can investigate what has happened.”
Ohu’s brother, Bayo Adedokun, said he could not think of anything that could have warranted his murder.
One of Ohu’s daughters, Omolara said, “ I saw a car parked in front of our gate. I was surprised when I saw the white car. I thought they came to visit our land lady. When we got to our gate, their car’s door was left opened and I asked one of them to allow me pass. When I entered, I saw one man holding gun and I started hearing gun shots. I hid under my daddy’s car. It was after they had left that we saw blood everywhere and our daddy was on the floor and my sisters started shouting”.
Members of the pen profession who were murdered under questionable circumstances include two Editorial Board members of ThisDay, Abayomi Ogundeji and Godwin Agbroko; Tunde Oladepo of The Guardian and Omololu Falobi of The Punch.
The spokesman of the police command, Frank Mba, had said, “From the information we are getting, particularly the Camry recovered, and all other things we are building up from the recovered car, detectives are already working on the car, and they are trying to link up a couple of things. It will be difficult for us now to say it is pure murder. So we want to leave our options open. No hypothesis is insolvable, you just build up a hypothesis in crime investigation just to enable you start up. When you steal somebody’s thing with gun, couple with violence, it is armed robbery. Whatever it is, we are leaving our options open.
“What we know is that he was attacked, killed and his Laptop and handsets were taken away. Our investigation is not a product of speculation or guess work, but very soon, I assure you that we shall get the killers and be able to ascertain the motive behind his death. Now, we are doing everything in our power to get to the root of the case”, he stressed.
A delegation led by the NUJ President, Muhammed Garba, which included representatives of the NUJ, the International Press Centre, Journalists for Democratic Rights, Afenifere Renewal Group and Centre for Peace were at the office of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Marvel Akpoyibo, to deliver the letter for onward transmission to the Inspector General of Police.
The Ekiti State Council of NUJ and the University of Ado- Ekiti Students’ Union Government on Friday condemned the killing and described the late Ohu as a promising and brilliant journalist.
While the Ekiti Council called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the doctor on duty at Crystal Hospital in Lagos for refusing to treat Ohu immediately after the incident, the students’ body called on security agencies to begin unfettered investigations into the killing and refrain from referring to the incident as armed robbery.
Senator Chris Anyanwu (PDP, Imo East) encouraged journalists in the country not to be intimidated by the cold-blooded murder of Ohu. Anyanwu said the assassination was an overt attempt to instil fear in the hearts of Nigerians to the extent of enthroning mediocrity in governance.
Asserting that the Police owed it a duty to the society to unravel his killers, Senator Anyanwu who is the vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence and Army said, “The cold-blooded murder of Mr. Bayo Ohu, the Assistant News Editor of The Guardian is most shocking and condemnable. It takes us back to the dark-age practice of the military era where bearers of bad news are cut down viciously.This dastardly act is the highest form of intolerance because it is aimed at killing one of the hallmarks of democracy, which is freedom of expression and free press. It is calculated to instil fear in the psyche of Nigerians and to implant in their thought that the price of freedom of expression is death.
“This could bring about an inert society where people are incapable of responding to things happening around the environment and a situation where authorities will go unquestioned and unchecked.”
The Trade Union Congress, in its own reaction, charged the leadership of Nigerian Police and other security agencies in the country to do everything possible to bring Ohu’s killers to book, warning that his case must not join the growing list of unresolved murders in the country.
The umbrella body for senior staff associations in the country decried the increasing risk Nigerian Journalists were being exposed to on a daily basis in the course of their legitimate duties and wondered why members of the National Assembly were still foot-dragging over the Freedom of Information Bill.
Senate President David Mark, in a condolence message to the management and staff of The Guardian said Ohu’s killing is shocking and barbaric.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, Mark tasked the police to work extra hard to uncover the perpetrators of the dastardly act within the shortest time.