How Jos riots claimed two journalists
On the 24th of April, Mr. Nathan Sheleph Dabak, 36, an Assistant Editor and Sunday Gyang Bwede, 39, both of the Light Bearer Newspaper, a monthly publication of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) based in Jos, Plateau State, set out to conduct an interview with a member of the House of Representatives. According […]
On the 24th of April, Mr. Nathan Sheleph Dabak, 36, an Assistant Editor and Sunday Gyang Bwede, 39, both of the Light Bearer Newspaper, a monthly publication of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) based in Jos, Plateau State, set out to conduct an interview with a member of the House of Representatives.
According to the Editor-in Chief, Light Bearer, Gyarta Pofi, who spoke with newsmen, the two journalists had chartered a motorcycle to convey them to a scheduled interview with Hon. Bitrus Kaze on the role of the Nigerian House of Representatives’ in bringing peace to the restive communities in the area.
The two journalists ran into an angry mob that had barricaded the road in protest over the discovery of the corpse of a young boy found at Dutse Uku in Nassarawa Gwom area of Jos North.
They were said to have been attacked by the mob and were left in the pool of their blood. Their bodies were only discovered at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH the next day (Sunday) by a search team.
According to Pofi, Dabak and Bwede were seen as committed journalists who had begun working with The Light Bearer in May 2009, adding that Bwede was survived by a wife and son.
The Special Task Force on security in the state had issued a statement signed by Brigadier Donald Oji Sunday 24th in which it said that some locals formed a mob after discovering the body of one Alkamata Nuhu. They barricaded the roads in the general area “and some passers – by were stabbed in the process and were evacuated to hospital where three of them later died,” the statement said.
First to react was the Plateau State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). The Union condemned in strong terms the incident saying “the Council is disturbed with the series of attacks on its members in recent times in the course of carrying out their legitimate duty. It would be recalled that some Journalists lost their valuable properties during the January 17, 2010 crisis and as well harassed and wounded by rioters”. A statement jointly signed by the State Chairman and Secretary, Katdapba Gobum and Isaac Shobayo said.
They further appealed to Security agencies, especially the Special Task Force to carry out a thorough investigation on the killings of the two journalists with the aim of bringing the perpetrators of the dastardly act to book. “It is unfortunate that men of the fourth estate of the realm in Nigeria are not accorded the deserved respect and recognition in the course of performing their duty”, the statement said.
While expressing its condolence to the families of the deceased and the entire management and Staff of The Light Bearer Newspapers, the Union also called “on both the State and Federal Government to stamp its foot on the ground and address the perennial crisis threatening not only human lives, but also economic and social survival of the state and as it is denting the image of Nigeria.
Expressing its position over the killings, COCIN in a statement by its President, Rev. Dr. Pandang Yamsat, described the incident as news that came to them “as a rude shock and surprise to us”.
“The killing of these two journalists, no doubt, has raised some fundamental security questions that, if it is to be unravelled, the mysteries surrounding it would show that neither the Church nor its members are safe in these predicaments”.
While calling on her members to be calm and prayerful, the President also urged them to go about their normal businesses while urging the Plateau State government to investigate the matter and review the security network in the state.
In his condolence message to the state NUJ, Special Adviser to Governor Jonah Jang on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Dan Manjang, described the incident as “despicable and not only a loss to the Nigeria Union of Journalists but to the entire state. If press men could be hacked to death in such a cruel manner without any justification, then it poses a serious security challenge to the nation.”
He added that it was unfortunate “despite the fact that this incident occurred when dialogue and peace measures were vigorously pursued by the government to bring about permanent peace in Plateau state and elsewhere,” he said.
Speaking with news men over the incident, the Programme Coordinator of Stefanus Foundation, a Christian faith based Non Governmental Organisation, Engineer Mark Lipdo, said it was unfortunate that the perpetrators are advancing with new styles of killings. We pray and do hope that the world would someday know the plight of victims and take necessary steps towards addressing this inhumanity in the North.
This incident came barely two months after the attack on a Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) reporter, Murtala Hashim Sani, who was attacked by a mob at the mass burial of victims of the Dogo Na Hauwa killings.