Thursday, October 15, 2009

Mystery Murder Of Guardian Newspaper Journalist



The killers of Nigerian Editor Bayo Ohu are still a mystery, three weeks after his murder. Now the family of the former Guardian newspaper journalist lives in fear. Ohu was shot dead early on Sunday morning, September 20, by a gang of five armed men and a woman in his apartment in Egbeda, a Lagos suburb in Nigeria. His killers made away with his laptop and cell phone, raising speculation that he was killed for his work as a journalist. Nigerian Police Commissioner Marvel Akpoyido told CPJ that investigations are ongoing.According to local news reports, Ohu was working on a sensitive story about the use of forged educational certificates by a recently appointed customs official. This was confirmed by his widow, who told CPJ that this information had been passed on to her by senior journalists at The Guardian.The 31-year-old mother of five girls, aged 10 months to 16 years old, described her slain husband as “loving, caring, and with a passion for journalism,” which convinced her to take up journalism as a profession herself. Blessing Bayo Ohu recently spoke to CPJ about her husband, her security concerns, and her future plans.