Tordue Salem: Journalists ask National Assembly to order independent inquiry into death of missing reporter – Premium Times

The National Assembly is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of a House of Representatives correspondent of the Vanguard Newspaper, Tordue Salem, as questions continued to be raised over the accounts of the police on the incident.

The House of Representatives Press Corps has written to the leadership of the House of Representatives to call for an independent inquiry when the lawmakers resume plenary on Tuesday.

Also, the Minority caucus of the House of Representatives, in a statement issued on November 13 by its leader, Ndudi Elumelu, had urged the police to leave no stone unturned in addressing all conflicting issues related to the disappearance and death of the journalist.

Mr Salem was last seen alive in Area 8 in Garki area of Abuja on October 13.

Twenty-nine days after he was declared missing, a report that triggered intense media coverage, the police announced that his body had been found in the mortuary of Wuse General Hospital, Abuja, saying it had been deposited at the facility after his death in a hit and run accident on the night of his disappearance.

The spokesperson of the police, Frank Mba, later at a press conference paraded one Clement Itoro, who claimed to be the driver that fatally knocked down Mr Salem.

Mr Itoro said at the event that after knocking down Mr Salem, he reported himself to the police at a checkpoint but was not detained.

According to Mr Itoro, the accident happened close to the Federal Ministry of Works headquarters in the Mabushi area of the Abuja metropolis.

The person ran into me, I knocked down the person, and I moved on. The reason why I did not stop in that place, they have attacked me before that same place, it is on my phone that same month, Mr Itoro said.

So I turned around that place where they had that checking point to report that I knocked down someone. I talked to the police, afterwards, I went to park my car because my vehicle was damaged, he said.

Mr Mba also said three identity cards, including a National Assembly Temporary ID card, Vanguard Newspaper ID card and Nigeria Union of Journalists ID card, were found on the body.

Curiously, however, despite the three identification materials, the hospital did not contact any of the organisations that issued them to report the death of Mr Salem. This was also in spite of widespread reportage of his disappearance.

Family disputes identification

The family of Mr Salem, which was not represented at the press conference addressed by Mr Mba, later contradicted the police claim that the family members had identified the body.

On Monday, Jeffery Kuraun, the brother-in-law of Mr Salem, said the family was yet to confirm the identity of the body.

Mr Karaun, who spoke on behalf of the family when the House of Representatives Press Corps paid a condolence visit to the family, said he only saw the body for a few minutes before the press briefing by Mr Mba.

He said he was unable to ascertain if the body was that of Mr Salem.

The unfortunate thing was that I was trying to identify the body while there was a briefing in which the police announced that the family had positively identified the body. That was the statement. I am still saying it, I am sorry, the body I saw, I cannot say if it is 100 per cent Tordue. Yes, the frame looked like him.

His legs are completely gone, twisted and messed up. He was a tall guy, but I did not see that. So I was trying to look at the face. Is it him? I just need answers. Luckily, I called him (Mr Mba) to ask, what next? We are looking for an opportunity for the family to have the body.

Tordue does not shave clean, that person I saw shaved clean. Maybe he shaved my wife has a saloon that is where he shaved. We have questions, and I have contacted the police, they said they will address all these issues. I am grateful and hoping all will be addressed.

Mr Karaun also faulted Vanguard Newspaper for breaking the news of Mr Salems death without informing the family.

I said why is Vanguard in a hurry? Yes, I criticised it. I am not a journalist and I have no experience, but I thought that because they have our contact, it would be better to put a call through. You know what, I have bad news, and we are going to publish it. We would have prepared our minds.

Mr Salems sister, Elizabeth Karaun, could not contain her emotions during the condolence visit. While demanding justice, she said she had been unable to sleep or eat since the news of his death.

When I sleep, I see Tordue I cant sleep. He is telling me he wants justice. Please, you guys are journalists look at his daughter. Please help us get justice. The real killers, they should come out.

Because when they were investigating this thing, I got two conflicting reports. IRT was telling me something else, SWAT or SARS was telling something else, two conflicted stories. People are calling me in my village. They dont believe that story.

There is a video that is circulating that Tordue was packed in a bag. The body in the mortuary, down is burnt. I dont eat, because anytime they give me food, I tell them that it is like they have butchered my brother and given me to eat. I want justice. I dont believe anything that was shown to us on that television.

Mr Mba, the police spokesperson, did not pick calls placed to his phone number or respond to a text message sent to him.

Efforts to find missing Mr Salem

After Mr Salem was declared missing on October 13, his family members and journalist colleagues launched a campaign for his rescue, with the initial suspicion being that he had been kidnapped.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the family only checked the Garki General Hospital, acting on an alleged information from the police that Mr Salem was last seen around Area 8 in Garki.

When asked by this reporter why the family did not check all the hospitals in the city, Mr Karaun said that the family was expecting him to return, therefore, it did not occur to anyone to check the mortuaries.

A dive into Mr Salems social media

Prior to his disappearance in October, most contents of Mr Salems Facebook account relate to the governorship campaign of his in-law, Jeffery Karaun, and posts in support of the federal government.

Mr Karaun appears to be nursing the ambition of contesting for the Benue State governorship election in 2023 under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Press corps turn to National Assembly for an independent inquiry

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Press Corps, Grace Ike, informed PREMIUM TIMES that the corps has written to the leadership of the House of Representatives to move a motion on Tuesday for an independent inquiry into the issue.

Ms Ike said, like most Nigerians, the corps was not buying the hit and run story.

Questions for police

The alleged hit and run driver, Mr Itoro, had claimed that he reported himself to police officers at a checkpoint after the accident. But the police did not identify the officers or disclose what action they took after the report?

Mr Mba claimed that three ID cards were found on Mr Salems body but also did not explain why it took the police almost a month to discover this?

The family of Mr Tordue said the body at the mortuary was crushed from the thighs down and burnt but the police have not clarified if and why this was the case.

Not much has also been disclosed about the alleged hit and run driver, Mr Itoro. Who is he? What does he do for a living and where does he live? Does he have a previous case with the police or a criminal record?

An independent inquiry will provide answers to these and more questions.

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Tordue Salem: Journalists ask National Assembly to order independent inquiry into death of missing reporter - Premium Times