Metro
Govt ruined me, my life in danger for being a journalist, Salkida laments
Nigerian Journalist Ahmad Salkida, who covered Boko Haram activities, has cried out that his life is now in danger for doing his job.
Salkida was in August 2016 declared wanted by the Nigerian Army for his alleged link with Boko Haram terrorists while he was outside the country. On his return on September 5, he was reportedly arrested by the Department of State Security Service (DSS) and later released.
However, Salkida tweeted, on his handle @ContactSalkida, how his life has been ruined and threatened even after Nigerian government said his arrest was a misunderstanding.
He said “My life is ruined, I have been rendered homeless, I have been told that I have no rights at all, my family is scared, my crime is journalism. I have been silent, I have given leaders the benefit of doubt, but now it is time to fight back while I can. My life is in danger!
“What kind of government will declare a citizen wanted for doing nothing but journalism, ruined my life and that of my family. Government just said, it was a misunderstanding,’ but to hell with you, you are on your own. What kind of government will do this to a harmless patriotic citizen?
Read also: Buhari tells world leaders how he’ll reduce human trafficking in Nigeria
“The last one month has been one of the most difficult in my life, the threat to my life is more serious than what is in the public domain… I have been silent, I have given leaders the benefit of doubt, but now it is time to fight back while I can. My life is in danger!
“If you have little kids, I have five of them, you will thread carefully, any right thinking person would do same. My moderation is for my kids! Don’t you think such needless and wicked declaration has repercussions? You have no idea how it has affected me and my family…
“It’s beyond detention and release, I was accused unjustly, where is the official apology, even my kids will pay for this official slander…,” he lamented.
Salkida was declared wanted along with two others after Boko Haram released a video confirming that the Chibok girls were alive but showed that some died in airstrikes.
By Ebere Ndukwu …
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...