The National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP) has expressed discontentment over the silence of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila’s as the sudden appearance of Vanguard Newspaper reporter attached to the House of Representatives, Tordue Salem slips into the second week.
In a statement signed by the Association’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Eric Elezuo, in Lagos on Friday, the National President, Mr. Samson Oki, said the Speaker’s silence and inability to issue a statement, many days after the journalist was declared missing, is disheartening and totally unacceptable.
He further berated other security agencies for the lukewarm manner in which the disappearance of the NASS reporter is being handled.
However, the statement commended the FCT Police, that has issued a statement on the matter, saying that the statement should be matched with action as every minute counts.
“With the deepest of regrets, we the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), a reputable body of security news publishers, frown at the lingering silence over the disappearance of Vanguard reporter, covering the House of Representatives in the National Assembly, Mr. Tordue Salem.”
The reporter, according to reports, was last seen in the evening of Wednesday, October 13, 2021, around the Total Filling Station, opposite the Police Headquarters, in Abuja.
“Many days after his disappearance, no one seems to have taken his case seriously. Not even the Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila-led House of Representatives or major security outfits has deemed it fit to release a statement on the issue.
“It is imperative to note that the father of one unceremoniously disappeared from a location close to a police facility, an environment termed secure as well as carry out his daily duties in the National Assembly, also classified as secure. It is therefore a shock that calamity should happen to him, and at the place, it happened.
“We hereby call on the IGP Baba Usman-led Nigerian Police, especially the FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Babaji Sunday, to as a matter of urgency get cracking and bring the young man back home safe and sound.
We understand from a statement of October 17, 2021, that the FCT Police noted their commitment to finding his whereabouts, but events seem to be dragging considering that every minute, every second is crucial.
“We are also calling on the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Gbajabiamila, in whose jurisdiction the missing journalist functions, to get involved, and at least issue a statement. The deadly silence being maintained is suggesting something else.
NAOSNP, therefore, call on all security agencies, relevant bodies and the general public to get involved to see that Mr. Salem does not come to any harm, but return to his family, colleagues and loved ones in one piece,” the statement reiterated.
https://any.peopleandpowermag.com/tordue-salem-naosnp-frowns-at-speaker-gbajabiamilas-silence/
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