Boko Haram: Stop persecuting Salkida, say CSOs

Bayo Akinloye

A coalition of civil society organisations have called on the Federal Government to desist from harassing or attempting to threaten the life of a journalist, Ahmad Salkida, known to have been close to the Boko Haram leadership.

According to the coalition, Salkida, an independent journalist whose reporting on the crisis in the North-East raised the alarm, following a report he published on the released 82 Chibok girls, that his life was under renewed threat.

Among the CSOs were: Civil Liberties Organisation; International Press Centre; Section on Public Interest and Development Law; Centre for Democracy and Development; and Say No Campaign Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Wednesday night, the coalition said, “As a matter of fact, the Nigerian Army had on August 14, 2016 declared Salkida a wanted man without justification. Having willingly submitted himself for interrogation Salkida was released without any charge or indictment by the military authorities.

“The same military authorities found nothing professionally unbecoming to use against him, but would not publicly admit this. But the threat to his life, attempts to block him from professionally seeking a livelihood, attempts to profile him and intimidate him has continued.”

The recent attempt has had to involve using an obviously sponsored shadowy group to place spurious charges in court against him, the CSOs claimed.

“We cannot fail to notice and indeed hasten to draw a parallel between Salkida’s present cross and the bullying and the obviously sponsored attempts at intimidation of Amnesty International, Nigeria recently.

“Following its professional work of calling out government on its deplorable human rights records, the government became so incensed as to suggest that Amnesty International was undermining the Nigerian government’s sovereignty and that the agency was working with the violent terror group, Boko Haram,” they added.

The statement noted further that similar accusation of working with Boko Haram was “central in the petitions” lodged by a group, the Incorporated Trustees of Overt Legacy and Human Development Initiative, in the court against Salkida.

It said, “We fear the eerie connection from the cry of the witch and the death of the baby. We therefore are obliged to call on the Federal Government to swiftly investigate the activities of these neo-NGOs and several individuals online and offline threatening Salkida and parading themselves as defenders of government.”

The CSOs therefore urged all appropriate security agencies to guarantee the safety of journalists and public commentators all over Nigeria and to particularly guarantee Salkida’s continued professional practice.

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