A
journalist with popular Nigerian Television station, Channels TV, who
was murdered by Boko Haram, has 'resurfaced' in Holland.
Enenche Akogwu
Enenche Akogwu, a Channels TV journalist became a household name in
2012 when Boko Haram gunned him down in Kano. He was only 31 years old
at the time. Today, he remains a hero.
It will be recalled that on January 20, 2012, Boko Haram launched a
series of attacks on Kano state. The Farm Centre Police Station was
affected as well, by a bomb blast that claimed dozens of lives.
Rather than rely on figures from security agents, as most
journalists are accustomed to do, Akogwu dashed to the scene of the
blast to find out for himself what had happened.
Idris Jibrin, his friend, would later say that Akogwu’s body was
found hours after. He had been shot six times — three times in the chest
and three in the stomach.
The bystanders from whom he requested information on the blast were
insurgents themselves, and they wasted no time in pulling the trigger.
Thereafter, not much has been said about Akogwu, who won the
Channels Television Chairman’s Award the year before his death. His name
has virtually disappeared.
‘Fisayo Soyombo
However, according to PM News, on Wednesday night, at the Free
Press Awards in The Hague, Netherlands, Fisayo Soyombo, who was awarded
the Newcomer of the Year award, extolled the late journalist’s virtues.
“A day like this is important to keep alive the memory of
journalists such as Akogwu, who have paid the supreme price for
journalism,” Soyombo said after receiving the award.
“The truth is that I didn’t know Akogwu personally in his
lifetime; I never met him. But to have died the way he did, it’s
something I can relate with because I’ve reported from that zone myself.
“I dedicate this award to Akogwu; a name like his should never die. The world must not forget people like him.”
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