The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), FCT chapter, has tasked the federal government on security of lives and property within the FCT and other parts of the country.
The women journalists also want government to mitigate the ever increasing inflation of cost of goods and services in the country.
This was contained in a communique by NAWOJ FCT at the end of its November Congress at the NUJ secretariat, Utako, Abuja, and signed by chairperson NAWOJ FCT, Comrade Annah Daniel, and secretary, NAWOJ FCT, Nkiru Nnoli-Okeke.
It reads in part: “NAWOJ, FCT chapter, congress during its state of the nation examined the state of affairs in several areas including security, health, education and economy among others.
“NAWOJ congress in session raised the alarm over the security challenges facing the country and condemned, in strong terms, the death of Vanguard reporter, Mr. Tordue Henry Salem, who was declared missing on October 13, 2021, but was reportedly found dead on November 11 allegedly in government hospital morgue where his body is said to have been deposited following a road accident on the day he went missing.
“NAWOJ also queried the manner in which the Vanguard Newspaper, late Tordue’s employers, hurriedly broke the news of his death without considering the psychological effect it will have on family members of the deceased who were not given prior notice of their son’s death.
“The association called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba, to order thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the late journalist as well as ensure all those either by omission or negligence failed do right by Tordue, even in death, are brought to book to serve as deterrent to others.”
It further stated, “NAWOJ congress in session also decried the rate of inflation the country especially the hike in prices of food stuff and other essential commodities including cooking gas, charcoal and kerosene.
“The association lamented the hardship being experienced by women and children due to inflation, noting that most families can hardly afford one square meal not to talk of three sqaure meals daily.
“NAWOJ, therefore, called on the federal government to urgently intervene to check the inflation as well as look into the issue of the supply of adulterated kerosene and artifical scarcity of other petroleum products by marketers in anticipation of further hike in prices.”
Similarly the Congress, while expressing displeasure over the November 6 tanker explosion in the Kubwa area of the FCT leading to the death of at least five people with many others sustaining various degrees of injury, noted that the explosion was alleged to be as a result of adulterated kerosene.
“In addition, NAWOJ condemned the killing of the three soldiers including a General, who was allegedly gruesomely murdered by the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) in a remote village in Maiduguri, Borno state.
“The women journalists called on all security agencies to intensify efforts to tackle the ugly menace of banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and other forms of violent crimes within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other parts of the country,” the communique stated.
