With the police yet to locate the whereabouts of Donu Kogbara, a Nigerian writer and broadcaster that was kidnapped about 12 days ago, Nigerian female activists have launched a social media campaign to seek her release.
Joined in the campaign are journalists and other concerned individuals from different parts of the world.
Kogbara was abducted in August by unknown gunmen. The abduction, according to reports, was carried out amid shooting at his family home in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Kogbara had worked for BBC Channel 4,The Sunday Times and the Mail. After her international engagements, she took up a role at The Vanguard as a columnist.
As of Thursday, Kogbara’s photographs had been circulated on the Internet with different inscriptions calling for her release. The campaigners vowed to continue to draw attention to the journalist’s plight, saying silence was no longer golden.
Funmi Iyanda, a media personality, shared her concerned on Twitter. She said it was important concerned individuals know “what can be done” to secure her release.
Iyanda called on others to voice their concern to relevant authorities. She said it was, indeed, terrible if the abductee was still left with the kidnappers over 10 days after she was taken away.
Also tweeting, Rita Dominic, urged the authorities to secure Kogbara “now”. She said the police and other security agencies could not afford to delay in taking actions that would lead to her release.
With calls for action coming from many, the International Press Centre has also joined the campaign. It urged the government to treat the abduction as an emergency.
Yet, one Esther Ogun said, “I am extremely concerned that 11 days after she was stolen, Kogbara has yet to be released or found while her abductors are not reaching out.”
Campaigns by Nigerians have been echoed by foreign tweeters and bloggers who have started compiling major similar cases that took place in Nigeria in the past few years.
In a series of tweets, one Pier Mark said the country had to address socio-economic issues that had forced young people into kidnapping and other criminal activities.
“You cannot guarantee security if young people go about without any hope of surviving the next hour. There has to be social security first. This is what I think the government should pay attention to.
“And it is not Nigeria alone; other African countries need to act fast to minimise small crimes. These guys will continue to give the impression that the continent is not safe if the governments do not checkmate issues that cause insecurity,” Mark blogged.
Campaign, especially from the international community, may have been motivated by a report by theInternational Business Times of the United Kingdom on Thursday afternoon.
The report, which had gone viral internationally by Thursday evening, said members of the Nigerian Police Force were investigating the abduction.
According to the report, a spokesperson for the Rivers State Command confirmed that they were investigating Kogbara’s disappearance.
It reported the police as saying, “We are doing everything we can to ensure that she is released safely. But I cannot say anything beyond that for her safety.”
The Nigeria Union of Journalists, Rivers State council, had earlier called for an immediate and unconditional release of the kidnapped journalist.
Speaking through its Chairman, Omoni Ayo-Tamuno, it asked, “Why should an innocent journalist, who is contributing to societal development, become the target of kidnappers? Journalists are positively impacting the society and should be spared the trauma of being kidnapped.
“It is really sad that the renowned columnist, who is using her pen to bring about development, will now be in the den of kidnappers for many days, considering the usually-unpleasant experiences.”
