Journalists Killed  |  Nigeria

Bayo Ohu

The Guardian

September 20, 2009, in Lagos, Nigeria

AFP

Ohu, a 45-year-old assistant news editor at influential private daily The Guardian, was shot dead September 20 by unidentified gunmen as he answered a knock at the front door of his house in a northern suburb of Lagos. Early that morning, six unidentified assailants, five men and one female ringleader, shot Ohu repeatedly and then left, taking only his laptop and cell phone, according to local news reports and relatives.

Ohu was preparing to head to church to meet his wife at the time, and two of his five children were in the house, local journalists told CPJ.

Neighbors quickly realized Ohu was still alive after being shot several times and drove him to a nearby local hospital after the gunmen left, according to local journalists. According to news reports, staff at a local hospital refused him entry since he did not have a signed release form by the police. Neighbors tried to rush Ohu to another facility but he died before they reached another hospital, local journalists told CPJ.

Ohu started as The Guardian’s state correspondent for Katsina State, where President Umaru Yar’Adua was the governor in 1991. Guardian Chief Editor Emeke Izeze told CPJ that Ohu was later promoted to assistant news editor.

Although no direct motive has been identified between his reporting and the murder, journalists at the Nigerian Union of Journalists told CPJ they strongly suspect Ohu was killed for his political reporting—the murder may be linked to his investigation into a report on fraud in the Customs Department, they said. Ohu was also allegedly reporting on the rerun of the Ekiti State council elections.

Nigeria’s police inspector-general, Ogbonna Onovo, set up a team of detectives and offered a reward to anyone with information about the murder, according to local news reports. 


Medium: Print

Job: Editor, Print Reporter

Beats Covered: Politics

Gender: Male

Local or Foreign: Local

Freelance: No

Type of Death: Murder

Suspected Source of Fire: Unknown Fire

Impunity: Yes

Taken Captive: No

Tortured: No

Threatened: No


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