•As family demands more clarification from police over gaps in death report

•Use investigative journalism skills to get justice for our son, Family begs colleagues

•Alleges his killers may still be out there

By Emma Ujah, Emma Elebeke & Levinus Nwabughiogu

The Management of Vanguard Media Limited has condoled with the family of its late reporter, Tordue Salem, who was initially reported missing but eventually declared dead by the police after one month of his disappearance.

The Vanguard team, which was led by the Editor, Northern Operations, Mr. Soni Daniel, visited the family house yesterday in Abuja and met with Tordue’s wife, Deve Salem, his five-year-old daughter, Avaana Salem, elder sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Kuraun and the head of the family, Dr. Jeffrey Kuraun.

 The Northern Region Editor expressed deep sympathy to the family and prayed God to grant them the grace to bear the irreparable loss, which he said had also thrown the company and its workers into a mourning since the sad news of his demise was broken by the police.

“We are here on behalf of the publisher, management and staff of Vanguard Media Limited to sympathise with you on this very sad and unfortunate incident, which has taken away Tordue, one of our very best reporters at the National Assembly.

“We are as devastated as the family by the news of the untimely loss of a courageous, resourceful, diligent and hard-working journalist, who related very well with his colleagues both in Vanguard Newspaper and at the House of Representatives.

“The late Tordue was a team player and a news hunter, who will be greatly missed by the company and his colleagues while his death has thrown all of us into mourning since the sad news was broken by the police last week,” he said.

Daniel, however, pledged the company’s readiness to work with the family and the law enforcement agencies to unravel the mystery of Mr. Salem’s death.

In his response, the head of the family, Dr. Jeffrey Kuraun, said the death of Mr. Salem had left a wide gap in the family that would be impossible to fill, as he died, leaving a young wife and a very tender daughter.

He expressed gratitude to the management and staff of Vanguard Newspaper for all the steps they had taken to find Tordue since he was first reported missing last month and for standing by the family in its moment of grief.

Dr. Kuraun, however, appealed to Vanguard Newspaper, the Nigerian press and public spirited Nigerians to impress upon the Nigerian security agencies to take further steps to unmask those behind the killing of Mr. Salem and bring them to justice.

According to him, there are many unanswered questions thrown up by the death report produced and presented to the media by the police.

READ ALSO: Vanguard condoles with Tordue’s family

While noting that the police report still sounded like a fable tale to the family, Dr. Kuraun said:  “We still need the police to come up with more answers to fill the yawning gaps thrown by the report of Tordue’s disappearance and eventual declaration of his death.”

He said one of the immediate answers the police needed to provide to the family was the person who took Tordue’s body to the morgue, when it was deposited there and who paid for the services and why it became impossible for Wuse General Hospital to know his identity, despite the retrieval of three identity cards and two ATM cards from the late journalist.

The head of the family said members of the family were still asking why the journalist was killed and by who?

Use investigative journalism skills to get justice for our son,Family begs colleagues

Meanwhile, the family of Tordue yesterday begged journalists in the countrry and abroad to deploy their investigative skills to unravel the circumstances that led to the death of their son.

Though the police authorities said Salem was found dead in Wuse General hospital morgue almost 30 days after his disappearance, the family said the police report was unbelievable, stressing it had loopholes that should not be ignored.

Speaking when the House of Representatives Press Corps, HoRPC, paid them a condolence visit, Dr. Jeffrey Kuraun, the husband to Salem’s elder sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Kuraun who were flanked by the deceased wife, Deve and 5-year-old daughter, Avana, also advised journalists not to give up on Nigeria.

He said:  “You know what you call it, investigative journalism. You might not have the resources to do it the way you want to do it but in your little space, see what you can do to unravel certain things.

“As for Tordue, you all watched the press conference, I think this is the first time every Nigerian is saying no, tell this to the trash. Don’t tell us. We don’t believe that. Its true that is what everybody is saying.

”As a family, do we believe in the story? No, we don’t believe it. It could be true but we don’t. Why? Do more to clarify certain things, so that may be by the time the investigators get to us formally, because that has not happened as at today. Formerly, we’ve not been informed.

“Another thing I will like to say is let us not give up on Nigeria. Please I’m begging. Its just an opinion. Let me tell you something, if you give up on this country, nobody that is not a Nigerian will come and fix this country. So you have a responsibility to build this country.

“You are very powerful people. I also know that there is nobody that is powerful as the press, so, I’m begging you, I’m appealing, that’s my personal word of advice. This is a country that, whether we like it or not, all the things that have happened good or bad are as a result of our own individual inputs. ’’

”Let us be very objective and condemn as you always do what you think is not right. A lot of people died in mysterious circumstances in this country and the manner in which it was approached, nothing has happened.

‘What would you do? Nothing has happened,  so don’t be in the category of people where someone will say let them talk after a while everything will die down. Don’t do that.”

Earlier in her remarks, the Chairman of the Press Corps, HoRPC, Grace Ike, commiserated with the family, assuring them that journalists all over the country were on the matter to ensure justice was done in the proper manner.

Vanguard News Nigeria