Police IG, Hafiz Ringim
Barely 48 hours after the killing of a Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) cameraman, Zakariyya Isa, and the widespread condemnation of the act, Boko Haram, the group that has claimed responsibility for the killing, Monday said it took the action because the deceased was a spy for the security agencies.
Spokesman of the group, Abul Qaqa, said the deceased was not killed in error.
It said in an emailed statement: “Zakariyya was not killed in error.”
Isa's murder, which was the first of such attack targeting a journalist, was carried out last Saturday evening in front of his house, shortly after leaving a mosque.
An AFP report quoted Qaqa, who had always claimed to speak on behalf of the group in the past, as saying that: “We killed him because he was spying on us for Nigerian security authorities. The killing was carefully planned and executed. We have ample evidence ... that he was giving vital information to security agencies on our mode of operation that led to the arrest of many of our members.”
The statement, which was written in the Hausa language, said Boko Haram “killed him not because he was a journalist but for his personal misconduct.” It added that the group would not hesitate to "kill anybody that steps on our toes.”
Reacting to this, NTA's manager in Maiduguri, Daniya Mohammed, said he had “no reason to believe that (Isa) was working as a spy for the security agencies.”
“Zakariyya Isa was a dedicated and loyal staff. He was a kind of person who could not hurt a fly. I was therefore shocked and sad when I learnt that he had been killed by some gunmen,” Mohammed said.
Speaking in the same vein, the State Security Service (SSS) said Isa was not its agent. This is contrary to allegation by Boko Haram that it killed the cameraman because he spied for security agencies.
The Service’s spokesperson, Ms Marilyn Ogar, in a chat with Press Trust of India (PTI), denied the alleged involvement of Isa in any work of the agency.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of journalists (NUJ) Monday described the death of Isa, as barbaric and an injustice.
A statement signed by the National Secretary of NUJ, Shuibu Naman, in Abuja, called on Nigerians to rise up against the unwholesome act, saying if the act is not put in check, it would hamper good governance, fairness and social justice badly needed in this country., saying it was absolutely against the fair practice of journalism.
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