Wednesday 20 October 2021: The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, (COSEYL), the umbrella body of all the youth groups in the South East geopolitical zone, on Tuesday gave the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, and other security agencies in the country, seven-day ultimatum to find missing Tordue Salem, a journalist with Vanguard Newspaper.
Tordue covers the Federal House of Representatives for Vanguard newspaper.
The ultimatum was contained in a statement released on Tuesday, by Hon. Goodluck Egwu Ibem, President General of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders.
The group said it received with “rude shock the news of the sudden disappearance of Tordue Salem since October 13, in Abuja.
“We call on President Muhammadu Buhari who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan; the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, to activate all necessary machinery to ensure that everything is done to ensure the saf,e return of Tordue Salem.
“If we don’t see Tordue Salem after seven working days, we will stage a one-million- man protest until he returns safely to his family. The time has started counting,” Ibem posited.
“This kind of story is totally unacceptable to us and we demand that the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, and other security agencies “must” find Tordue Salem and hand him over to his family within the next seven working days,” Ibem declared.
Ibem added, “These seven days ultimatum given by us to the IGP and other security agencies to find Salam is not negotiable.
“The IGP must prove his mettle by bringing back Salem to his family.
“No form of excuse will be entertained. The IGP and other security agencies must find Salem immediately.”
The coalition insisted that any form of attack on any journalist is an attack on the entire society.
“They are the backbone of our democracy and any attack on them is an attack against all Nigerians and non-Nigerians,” he said.
“The duties of journalists in our society cannot be over-emphasised. Journalists ensure possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
“Without any equivocation, we state that we will not tolerate any form of intimidation, harassment against journalists in Nigeria.
“The Federal Government, the state governments and all security agencies must ensure the safety of journalists in the discharge of their legitimate duties.
“We don’t want to hear that a journalist is missing next time,” the coalition warned.