ABUJA —
In an upper-class estate on the northern fringes of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, a black gate with iron bars leads into a cream-colored duplex that offers a good view of the city.
It is home to businesswoman Torkwase Kuraun and her husband Jeffrey Kuraun, a geologist with the Department of Petroleum Resources. And for two months, it also was home to Kuraun’s younger brother Tordue Salem, a parliamentary journalist for The Vanguard.
Salem moved in temporarily after gunmen attacked his apartment in Lugbe, some 20 kilometers southeast, in September. He escaped by a whisker.
When VOA visited earlier this month, a quietness had fallen around the house — a reflection of the uncertainty the family has faced since October 13.
That was the day when Salem, 43, went missing. For 28 days, his family and colleagues waited for news.
Finally, on November 11, they learned the journalist was dead.
National police said Salem had been hit by a car and his body taken to a hospital, which had not been able to identify the missing journalist.
Nigeria’s press community is mourning the reporter’s death. On Tuesday, the held a minute’s silence in his memory.
But Salem’s colleagues and family are not convinced by accounts of how he died. The Nigerian Union of Journalists has demanded an independent investigation.
Police have said that Salem had identity cards on him when he died, and a family friend, who had spoken with the journalist's relatives, said the body appeared to show signs of torture. The friend, who asked for anonymity out of concern for her safety, believes the journalist was privy to information that cost Salem his life but did not provide further details.
Police spokesperson Frank Mba did not respond to several calls requesting an interview.
Prior to Salem’s body being identified, police said they had questioned six people whom the reporter was in contact with the day he went missing. On Friday, the day after Salem’s body was identified, Mba paraded a man whom he says was driving the car that hit the journalist.
Journalists in Nigeria have on occasion been attacked, abducted, or detained because of their reporting.
And while no one has been able to prove that Salem's disappearance is work-related, the earlier attack gave his family reason to be worried.
His sister Karaun said she had been worrying about her brother for months.
Holding back tears, she recalled the last time she saw Salem. "He was in front of the gate when I was leaving, so I just waved because he was on the phone.”
Salem was the only son in a family of seven — a big deal for a typical African home. His first name, Tordue, means “A King is Born” in the Tiv language of Nigeria's central Benue State, where the family are from.
His late parents waited so long for a son that they held a big celebration to mark his birth, Kuraun said, adding that she and Salem were always close.
"He's always there with me sitting on this couch and watching the television, news he likes. News, he doesn't watch football," she said, sobbing as she sat upon an L-shaped grey sofa.
With her younger sister, Angela Kpamkwase, who runs a restaurant business in Lagos, Kuraun launched a social media campaign to raise awareness of their brother's case. Kuraun created a WhatsApp group, adding journalists, friends, volunteers, private agents.
Colleagues in the media also campaigned, marching to police headquarters in Abuja last month and demanding action. The police spokesperson Mba addressed the crowd of journalists who were holding placards that read "Free the Press," "Enough is Enough," "Free Tordue Salem" and assured them the police were on top of the matter.
The Abuja march was an opportunity for many to address a wider issue – attacks on the media. In October alone, news crews were harassed while covering the anniversary of mass protests against police brutality, and they were barred from entering an Abuja courtroom during the trial of a separatist leader.
Arise News correspondent Adefemi Akinsanya is one of the reporters harassed while covering the October 20 protest memorial. She says police tried to seize the media company's drone and her colleague.
"They were trying to forcibly take our cameraman into custody, they were grabbing him off the ground, it was quite a scary experience,” Akinsanya said.
Security had cordoned the entire Lekki toll gate area — a flashpoint since the October 2020 protests known as the End SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) movement.