Published 21st Oct, 2021

By Tola Owoyele

Tordue Henry Salem, a National Assembly correspondent for Vanguard newspaper, has gone missing since he left home on Wednesday, October 13.

According to reports, Salem visited a garden near the Nigerian police headquarters in Garki, Abuja, for a meeting around 8 pm on the said day and did not return.

Sources close to the correspondent told FIJ that his phone had been switched off since his disappearance.

“Someone called him on his phone line on that day to come to a meeting at the garden that evening. That was the last time he was seen,” a source, who asked not to be named, said.

“Since his disappearance, friends and family members have visited hospitals and other places all over the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), but no one could find him.”

Reacting to the incident, the FCT Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) issued a 24-hour ultimatum to relevant security agencies to produce the missing reporter.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Emmanuel Ogbeche, chairman of the chapter, told newsmen that his office had promptly informed the police and other security agencies immediately Salem was declared missing but got no meaningful update.

The chairman also challenged the police to prove to the Nigerian public that the journalist is not in their captivity since his last known location was very close to the force headquarters.

“We challenge the security agencies to prove us otherwise. If it were not so, as at this moment, they would have been able to tell us what efforts they have undertaken in locating the whereabouts of Mr. Salem. We want to say that there will be consequences for Mr Salem’s disappearance,” Ogbeche declared.

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