Enenche Akogwu

Enenche Akogwu, (30 March 1980 – 20 January 2012) was a Nigerian journalist and cameraman for Channels Television. In January 2012, he was shot and killed in Kano, Nigeria while investigating a Boko Haram bombing by an unidentified gunman. His work mainly focused on human rights, politics, and war. He covered news stories across the northern region of Nigeria.

Early life Benue State UniversityAkogwu was born on 30 March 1980 to Jonah and Agnes Akogwu, his father died in 2010, he assumed the responsibility of taking care of the family after his father's death. His mother said he loved being a reporter and as a kid, he would go out in the city to see what was happening and then return home to tell the family. His friend and colleague, Idris Jibrin, says that he used to go to Akogwu for advice on his own stories. Akogwu graduated from Benue State University in 2004.

Career At the time of his death, Akogwu was a reporter and camera operator for Channels Television, a privately owned station based in Lagos. His work mainly focused on human rights, politics, and war. He began working for Channels TV in 2010, as a correspondent in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. He was later assigned to a position in Kano, Nigeria, where he worked until his passing. However, he did cover news stories all across the northern region of Nigeria.

When Jibrin heard about the gunfire at Farm Centre, he tried calling Akogwu's cellphone but got no answer. He headed toward the scene to see if Akogwu was alright. A by-stander told Jibrin that a journalist had been shot, so he went to the body and discovered that it was Akogwu. Akogwu had been shot six times. He was shot three times in the chest and three times in the stomach. Jibrin delivered the news to Channels Television that their journalist had been killed.

Boko Haram insurgency began in July 2009 with the 2009 Boko Haram uprising. Almost 1,000 people were killed in this fight between Boko Haram and Nigerian soldiers. Throughout 2010 and 2011, Boko Haram was responsible for several more attacks and bombings, which killed hundreds of people. Then, the group attacked Kano on 20 January 2012, killing over 170 people, including Enenche Akogwu. As of that day, this was its single most deadly attack. The estimated number of deaths from the Kano attacks was discovered by reporters from the Associated Press who actually counted the bodies in the mortuary at the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital. Correspondents from the private Leadership newspaper also found victims from the bombings in the mortuaries at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and the Sir Muhammadu Sanusi Hospital. After these findings, the estimated total number of deaths from the Kano attacks was raised to 215.

The first attack of the day was directed toward the Nigeria Police Headquarters on Bayero University (BUK) Road. By-standers say that a suicide bomber drove a Honda Civic into the police headquarters, killing himself and three police officers. At first, authorities were unsure who caused the attacks, but Boko Haram took responsibility for them, saying that its motive was to get revenge for the recent arrests of its members.

Impact

After Akogwu's death, his mother, Agnes Akogwu and best friend and colleague at Channels Television, Idris Jibrin, both told reporters that he was a dedicated journalist who loved his job.

Reactions

Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, responded to Akogwu's death and the Boko Haram attacks by saying that the "crime constitutes a serious attack on the basic human right of freedom of expression and press freedom." She also called on "the Nigerian authorities to investigate these killings."

The morning after the attacks, Red Cross officials evacuated the city of Kano and carried injured victims to safety. All hospitals in Kano were under orders from the state government to treat victims with the best care possible and to provide them with free treatment.

A coworker of Akogwu, Chika Moses, told reporters that the whole crew at Channels TV was devastated when they heard about Akogwu's death, especially when they had to deliver the news about the death of their own journalist. Just days after Nigeria learned about Akogwu's death, a picture of him wearing a vest with the word "PRESS" written in bold letters across the front spread rapidly on various blogs and social media.

Four years after Akogwu's death, his mother, Agnes Akogwu was approached by reporters from Idoma Voice.

The day after Boko Haram attacked, Goodluck Jonathan, president of Nigeria at the time of Akogwu's death, promised that those responsible for the attacks would be brought to justice. Mohamed Keita, the Africa Advocacy coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, also urged that action be taken to bring the attackers to justice. The Nigerian National Committee from the International Press Institute (IPI) recommended that the Nigerian government take action to better protect journalists in the future. In addition, IPI said that journalists should also be careful while on the job and should prioritize their own safety above their work. Reporters were unable to contact the Kano state police commissioner for comments on the evidence but instead, got a response from an official from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Yushau Shuaib from NEMA said that they were trying to save as many of the injured as they could and some NEMA officials from Kaduna even moved to Kano to help.