Nigerian journalist escapes lynching over alleged missing manhood

Zamfara state correspondent of the National Life newspaper, Saminu Ibrahim, has escaped lynching at the Skye Bank in Gusau following the alleged missing manhood of staff member, Idowu Olatunji. Mr Ibrahim was accused by Mr Olatunji of allegedly causing the missing of his private part when Mr Ibrahim went to withdraw his August salary from the bank.

But for the intervention of police attached to the bank, who quickly took both the accused and the complainant to the nearest police station for safety, the correspondent would have been lynched. Against the backdrop of the allegation the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Zamfara state council have called on police to investigate the matter.



The NUJ Chairman in the state, Comrade Mainasara Ruwan Dorawa, appealed for calm to enable the police investigate the matter, recalling that this was the second time a journalist would be accused of manhood theft. He stated that the first allegation after investigation turned out not to be true. He said "Recently another journalist representing Kano-based Triumph newspaper had a similar false accusation of snatching manhood".

Ruwan Doruwa regretted that even when the allegation was discovered not to be true, the accuser was left unpunished by the police. The chairman who lamented the poor image of journalists in the state observed that the allegation of stealing manhood has helped to worsen the perception of journalists by the public.