Nearly two months after LEADERSHIP Newspapers had requested the US Embassy in Abuja to clear the air on its alleged involvement in the disappearance or possible death of Nigerian journalist, Bagauda Kaltho, the embassy has refused to speak.
The suspicion of the US Embassy’s alleged involvement in the death of the journalist, who went missing in 1996 after a bomb blast at Durbar Hotel, Kaduna, was raised by former US Embassy staffer, Russell Hanks, in a recent interview with LEADERSHIP.
Bagauda Kaltho’s mysterious disappearance resurfaced about four months ago when a Kaduna-based activist, Shehu Mahdi, told Arise News channel that the US government through Hanks may have recruited the missing journalist to allegedly carry out a bomb attack on Durbar Hotel in Kaduna to unsettle the regime of the late General Sani Abacha.
Mahdi had, in the interview with Arise, claimed that Mr. Hanks offered him a bribe of N1 million to plant a bomb at Durbar Hotel in Kaduna but he rejected the offer. He, however, alleged that since Mr. Kaltho was also seen with Hanks at the same time, it was possible he took the offer to carry out the explosion, which rocked the hotel in 1995.
Hanks, a political affairs officer in the US Embassy at the time, admitted in an interview with LEADERSHIP that he was the one accused of masterminding the Durbar bombing in Kaduna at the time but declined further comments on the controversy, saying he would not speak until the US Embassy had spoken on the matter.
“But I am afraid I can’t help you much. I can’t say anything about it now until the US embassy in Nigeria has spoken on the issue. When they do that and you are not satisfied, or you need further clarification on some issues, then call me back and I will provide you with the details,” he was quoted to have said.
Earlier enquiries by LEADERSHIP newspapers to get the US Mission to clarify its position on the matter did not yield fruit as the Mission rebuffed all the enquiries. LEADERSHIP had contacted the US Embassy through its official email, ‘[email protected]’, to respond to the issue to no avail.
This was followed by an official letter written by the editor, Mr. Peter Ekele, dated September 19, 2022, to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, on the issue, which was again not responded to.
A second letter of reminder was written to the Ambassador by the LEADERSHIP editor dated September 27, 2022, which was yet again unanswered.
LEADERSHIP had reported that the attitude of the US embassy, especially that of the Ambassador, became really disturbing, strengthening the suspicion that the US government may have a hand in the alleged disappearance or death of Mr. Kaltho.
LEADERSHIP, in its earlier report, recalled that the wife of the missing journalist, Mrs Martha Kaltho, had called for investigation into her husband’s mysterious disappearance during the regime of the late General Sani Abacha.
Mrs Kaltho, in an exclusive interview with the sister publication, LEADERSHIP Friday, said activist Shehu Mahdi and ex-US envoy to Nigeria, Russell Hanks, should be held accountable for the whereabouts of her husband who has not been seen since 1996.
She debunked the claim made by Shehu Mahdi that her husband was complicit in the said explosion at Dubar Hotel in Kaduna in 1995.
Mrs Kaltho has since demanded that the federal government reopen investigation into her husband’s disappearance which happened during the military regime of the late General Abacha.
Surprisingly, Mrs Kaltho recently said her family would no longer speak further on this saga, suggesting that she might have been induced or threatened.
In the same vein, calls put across to Hanks for more information on the matter were not answered, which again raised suspicion of threat or inducement.
LEADERSHIP had reported that the Nigerian public had expressed worry about the controversy even as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called for the immediate probe of the mystery behind the death of Mr. Kaltho.
The CSOs insisted that people who took part in such a heinous act must be brought to face justice, adding that it would serve as a deterrent to others.
The CSOs, who spoke with LEADERSHIP on the matter, are Transparency International (TI), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), and the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG).
Speaking through their leader, Awwal Musa Rafsanjani, the CSOs said the investigation will not be about whether the Buhari-led government was aware of the incident or not, but that such atrocities must be investigated no matter how long it takes.
Rafsanjani said, “It’s not about the government; it is about the country. There is nothing wrong with the government investigating the killing of Journalist Bagauda Kaltho.
“Even though it happened during the military, the government must investigate it because these are human rights violations, and we will continue to insist that such investigation is carried out.
“It is the duty of the government to investigate. It doesn’t matter when it happened. The crime must be investigated no matter how long it takes.
“The government should Investigate this mystery and ensure that perpetrators are brought to book, it will help. It will serve as a deterrent to others. It will help in avoiding that kind of human rights abuses.”
…. Again, DSS, Police Keep Mum Over Call For Investigation
Meanwhile, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force have kept mum over the call for investigation into the situation surrounding the disappearance of a Nigerian journalist, Bagauda Kaltho, 26 years after the incident took place.
Several messages sent to both security agencies have remained unanswered.
LEADERSHIP last night sent enquiries to the public relations officer (PRO) of the DSS, Dr Peter Afunanya, and the Force PRO, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi but both kept mum over the issue.
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