HOW THE NIGERIAN PRESS KILLS INNOCENT PEOPLE
“The pen is mightier than the sword’ This is a globally, acclaimed statement of fact. The import of this statement, no doubt, attests to the fact that the flow of wisdom or the lack of it, from the liquid which the pen is housing can inflict a more devastating harm on humanity than the sword; the seeming harmless and simplistic nature of the pen notwithstanding.
The sword as at the time of coinage of this aphorism used to be the major known weapon of war which is all about killings and destruction. Yes, the sword at that time was the only known weapon of mass destruction, but sparingly used compared to pen. In sharp contrast, the pen depicts nobility and was fashioned out by man to be able to translate the wisdom in man into a readable form in order to enhance and deepen man’s enlightenment drive and true knowledge of himself as well as his environment.
Hence, the beauty of the pen, if it truly merits to be called one, depends on the capacity of the user of the pen to commit himself to vigorous research as well as being guided by those ethical values of life that promote love, peace, harmony and progress of mankind. Obviously, the pen and the sword are strange bedfellows. In fact, they are two parallel lines that can never meet.
While the pen plays the catalytic role of educating, enlightening and imparting knowledge in the course of man’s existence on earth; the sword was created by man for the sole purpose of terminating life, brutally at that. Put in another language, the sword which naturally should not have been part of man was inadvertently created by man to enforce the achievement of his egoistic ambition hinged on pride and conquest with might is right as a norm.
No doubt, in these times that the unbridled acquisition of war armaments are far deadlier than the sword is the rule rather than the exception, the sword as in the application of that adage has been rendered inappropriate, ineffective or rather redundant and currently begs for a replacement in the above saying of the sages. This, however, does not detract the truth inherent from the comparative statement about the pen and whatever destructive weapon there is. The idea behind the invention of the pen by the sages of old was borne out of the realization that knowledge in whatever form or field that is not communicated or imparted to others is, in its entirety, worthless and useless to man. Despite the noble and lofty service to which the pen could be put to bring about a cohesive and united world, the inventors equally recognized the negative ends to which the pen could as well be employed to serve. It is for this reason that they aptly sounded that note of warning so that those who choose to deploy that harmless but powerful instrument called pen could be wary in its application. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, you may say.
Experiences have proven beyond reasonable doubt that man, who remains the only variable character in nature, hardly learns. Due to crass ignorance of who he is and why he is here, man relishes engaging in a mission of self-destruction believing erroneously that the next brother/sister is the target of destruction. He has thrown over-board nature’s inescapable injunction that what man sows, he reaps.
This is as he deliberately and irrationally decides, to alienate himself from his true self through a baseless doctrine of impunity hinged on “faith and belief” in the Creator. This is man’s escape route to position the Creator as a paper tiger, for him to play God thereby, rubbishing the world as a cosmic joke. Day in, day out, he sets out to create more problems for himself, far bigger than he can handle, thus necessitating the need for Divine Intervention for a Savior, who will save him before he destroys himself
It is in this light that we would like to call to order media practitioners in Nigeria to wake up to their civic responsibility to the people of this great count Africa and the world, now that the Savior of Man is in our midst to save the world right from Nigeria. It is an open secret that our men of the Fourth Estate of the Realm have lost focus and currently engage in the pursuit of
their primitive primordial interests. In fact, most of the journalist in Nigeria today have relegated the interest of the people to the backburner as they go about scheming and scouting to play the role of hatchet-jobbers for whoever has the financial muscle to flex positively or negatively, provided the price is right.
It is therefore for this reason that media practitioners right here on our shores have thrown common sense to the winds in their reportage of The Enigma of Our Time, Satguru Maharaj Ji, The Living Perfect Master. The performance of Nigerian journalist for over four decades of the manifestation of The True Lord and Savior of The Universe of Our Time has fallen far below average. This abysmal poor performance has been sadly capped up by the use of derogatory acronyms like “Self-styled” and “Self-acclaimed”, etc., while addressing The Living Perfect Master.
The sins committed by Nigerian journalist against Humanity’s Best Friend of Old and Greatest Lover, ostensibly in a bid to serve neo-colonialist interests who overwhelmingly got stunned and alarmed with the obvious reality of bowing before the Divinity of the Blackman and in their foolhardiness are hell-bent in blocking a flowing river with bags of salt and sugar.
Can anybody stop the Sun from rising and setting? No way! Those, who for any reason, want to ride against nature’s wind of play, inevitably end up paying dearly for that. Yes, this is because the law of nature is the life of man itself. Nigerian journalists rather than go for the substance in reporting the activities and teachings of Satguru Maharaj Ji, deliberately opt to chase shallow and cherish the impugn negative meanings to The Satguru’s personality and mission.
This is against the backdrop of the fact that the nation and indeed, the whole world is in dire need of an All-Knowing One who commands the wherewithal to bail humanity out of the current man-made socio-political and economic turmoil that is threatening the ecological balance of the planet.
If truly the gentlemen of the press are really out to serve the interest of the people, four decades plus is more than ample time for them to rise and put on their thinking cap, as the conscience of the people, and bring the flavor of their investigative journalistic instinct to bear on their onerous duty to enlighten and educate the populace on who Satguru Maharaj Ji is and his exact mission in our midst today in order to fast-track the social transformation of our fatherland.
Notable journalist among the crop of the current practicing ones have at one time or the other been graced to share moments of interactive sessions with The Lord collectively or individually. Such interactive sessions provide the platform for The Satguru to enunciate what Nigerians and the people of the world stand to gain by embracing The Holy Spirit Incarnate in body. Due to religious prejudices and bias, these journalists have brazenly ignored such powerful redemptive messages.
Rather than do justice to the story, they fiddle with any portion of the message that tickles their fancy. Such messages which lack in-depth treatment are usually “tucked in” deep inside the pages of their paper where they will attract little or no attention. They are hardly moved by the weighty nature of the issues at stake. Equally, the fact that the message of Satguru Maharaj Ji is not factored on faith and belief, but on a much higher platitude of challenging every human being anytime, anywhere in the world to try, test Him first before believing is ignored, despite the fact that in the history of creation, no mortal has ever thrown such a challenge that presents serious food for thought.
However, for every desert, there is an oasis. Hence, it is safe to say that some few among the lot have displayed exemplary character and decorum in the discharge of their duties for which they are tapping immense Grace of The Lord today. Notable among the few include the Publisher of Ovation magazine, Chief Dele Momodu who through the assistance of SP Bayo Olaleye was the first reporter who after an interview session with Satguru Maharaj Ji reported The Lord on the cover banner of the defunct Classique magazine as “The Christ of This Age.”
Today, he clearly stands out as a success story in the field of journalism, rising from mere reporter to a publisher of his own media outfit. Others include Shola Akinuli of the defunct Sketch tabloid and Wale Lanre Ojo of Tribune. Akinuli who rose to the editorship of the
Sketch before he left is today a successful business magnate while Lanre Ojo rose to become NUJ Chairman for Oyo State Chapter and later Chief Press Secretary to the former Governor of Ekiti State.
In another related development, is the case of journalists who prove smarter after meeting Satguru Maharaj Ji with a pure and guileless heart who are known to have cheated death with scorn by the whiskers. Take for instance the case of Gbenga Opadotun, ex-NUJ Chairman, Oyo State Chapter.
Gbenga Opadotun, happens to be one of the lucky and blessed journalists, who met Maharaj Ji, with a pure heart. Soon after hosting Maharaj Ji at the NUJ centre at Iyaganku, he left with some members of the Oyo State Chapter of the NUJ for Abuja for the NUJ National Executive meeting. On their way back, their car crashed, Gbenga Opadotun came out unscratched, some of his colleagues died while others sustained various degree of injuries.
On the flipside was late May Ellen Damijo (nee Ezekiel) the founding editor of the Classique magazine, who published deliberate falsehood to the effect that before Satguru Maharaj Ji gives His devotees human heart to eat prior to the revelation of Divine Knowledge. It is unfortunate, that this promising journalist lost her life during mere childbirth.
This is a situation whereby just calling the Holy Name, Maharaj Ji, would have taken care of no matter how complicated the case maybe. Miseducation of the people through misinformation is like giving the death knell on the people and is even strongly condemned by the Bible and among other holy books, where it is stated “thou shall not kill,” but our people are murdered daily by subtle means through misinformation.
It is a taboo to misrepresent Satguru Maharaj Ji before the general public. It will be recalled that this was the reason behind the snobbish approach President Barack Obama meted out to Nigerian journalists during his inauguration as the American President. Hence the world is watching the Nigerian press vis-a-vis their relationship with The Satguru of our Time.
They should therefore wake up because for the past forty years, no foreign media outfit has addressed Satguru Maharaj Ji with derogatory attributes because they know who The Living Perfect Master is. They are not ready to tell the world, because doing so will be against their selfish interest, since they lost the battle of inheriting The Great Light.
In the days of yore, death took its flight from us because it was an un-welcome stranger in our midst. Yes, our forbearers never died. At the due date of transition to the great beyond, they invited those they were leaving behind to a meeting. Gave instructions and walked away with the directive that they should summon them for help in times of need. Whenever one incantate on their names they do appear to assist.
We abandoned this rich culture because Oyinboman said, it was
paganistic or idol worship. Obituary announcement was non-existent. If any, the age of the deceased had always been from 200 years minimum and above. It is for this reason, the disturbing rate at which our promising youngsters lose their lives at prime, is of concern, when their invaluable services are needed most, to move the society forward. At least 277 journalists were murdered while on the job worldwide since 2008, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found in an annual analysis.
The report-annual Global Impunity Index – says 83% of those cases did not record successful prosecution of the perpetrators over the ten years. According to the data, the number represents those killed between September 1, 2010, and August 31, 202 “During the 10-year index period ending August 31, 2020, 277 journalists were murdered for their work worldwide and in 83% of those cases, no perpetrators have been successfully prosecuted,” the report said.
The report said, “political groups, and other powerful actors use violence to silence critical and investigative journalists.” “CPJ has found that corruption, weak institutions and lack of political will to pursue robust investigations are all factors behind impunity in the countries.
For instance, African journalists are faced a vast array of violations of their right to press freedom and freedom of expression,” it said. “These included intimidation, harassment, threats, attacks, beatings, illegal detentions, arrests and imprisonment. Their equipment was confiscated and destroyed; many were forced to flee their home countries or stop reporting.
“Media houses were censored and sometimes shut down; their broad cast signals were jammed and copies of their publications seized. Newspapers, broadcasters and journalists alike faced spurious lawsuits. Many reporters were slapped with criminal charges, often for alleged defamation and sedition, and very often for covering corruption or the activities of security forces.
Nigeria is not left out in these gory tales of losing her bright stars and promising future leaders in the Pen Profession to the cold hands of death, even with Divine Grace and Power of Love in their midst that can stop death within seconds. The sad angle to this ugly trend is that a cursory look at the victims fall within the youth bracket that constitute well-trained productive human resource, who are indispensable tools in nation-building.
This underscores the need for Nigeria journalists to disentangle themselves from the dogmas, concepts and philosophies, ethno-religious biases, enslaving and blocking them from taking advantage of Maharaj Ji’s presence to save their lives before it is too late! Because it could be anybody’s turns any moment any second.
Hardly do these crops of able-bodied youths who constitute largest chunk of productive national assets that are needed in nation-building attain the age of 50, before they are hacked down by death, through sickness, accident or get murdered. Some of the few cases of avoidable wastages of our journalists are presented below here as food for thought.
The account of how some journalists lost their lives speak for itself. The sad aspect of the cases is that some of them met Maharaj Ji but due to lack of spiritual consciousness of who and what is Satguru Maharaj Ji, The Lord and Savior of man, they failed woefully to take the unique advantage of meeting Maharaj Ji to save their lives. Notable among them are Dele Giwa, May Ellen Ezekiel, Dimgba Igwe to mention but a few.
Dele Giwa was one, among the gifted journalists that the Grace touched to interview Maharaj Ji in the 80s, when The Lord commenced His Life-Saving Mission on earth. The unbiased and factual reportage of Maharaj Ji was the secret behind the success and popularity of Newswatch Magazine prior to the mistake that made the publication go extinct.
BRIEF ON SOME JOURNALISTS TRAPPED TO DEATH BY RELIGION AND LOST MAHARAJ JI’S SAVING GRACE.
DELE GIWA
He was killed by a mail bomb in his Lagos home on October 19, 1986. The assassination occurred two days after he had been interviewed by State
Security Service (SSS) officials. In an off-the-record interview with airport journalists, Lt. Col. A.K. Togun, the Deputy Director of the SSS had claimed that on October 9, Dele Giwa and Alex Ibru had organized a media parley for media executives and the newly created SSS. Togun claimed that it was at this meeting that the SSS and the media executives reached a secret censorship agreement.
Under this agreement, the media was to report any story with potential to embarrass the government to the SSS before they tried to publish same. Giwa had been invited by the SSS to their headquarters for the first time on September 19, 1986, after writing an article in which he described the newly introduced Second-Tier Foreign Exchange Market (SFEM) as “God’s experiment” and suggested that if SFEM failed, the people would stone their leaders in the streets.
Giwa was interviewed and his statement taken by two SSS operatives. He was later taken to meet with Lt Col Togun, the deputy director of the agency in his office. Togun is reported to have told Giwa that he found nothing offensive in the story as Giwa had also stated in the same story that he was hopeful that Babangida seemed determined to make SFEM work.
According to Giwa’s neighbor and colleague, Ray Ekpu, on 16 October 1986, Giwa had been questioned over the telephone by Col. Halilu Akilu of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) over an allegation that Dele had been heard speaking to some people about arms importation.
SSS officials reportedly summoned Giwa to their Headquarters again on October 16, 1986, and on the next day Ekpu accompanied him to the SSS headquarters for the interview. Lt. Col Togun accused Giwa and Newswatch of planning to write the “other side” of the story on Ebitu Ukiwe who was removed as Chief of the General staff, to General Babangida.
The magazine had published a cover story titled, “Power Games: Ukiwe loses out”, in its edition of 20 October which was on sale on October 13, 1986. Togun also accused Giwa plotting with the Nigeria Labor Congress, NLC, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and students to carry out a socialist revolution. Giwa was also accused of saying that Newswatch would employ the suspended police public relations officer Alozie Ogugbuaja. Ogugbuaja claims that on October 16, 1986, a bomb was defused by the police bomb squad at his official residence in GRA, Ikeja, Lagos. Ogugbuaja also said that he suspected that his phone might have been bugged because Giwa and Ray Ekpu in one of their telephone conversations with him had indeed promised to employ him in Newswatch if the police dismissed him.
Ray Ekpu also believed that their houses and phones may have been bugged because he did discuss employing Ogugbuaja in Newswatch with Dele Giwa over the phone only; he said that he found two bugging devices in the cover of two books inside his study. Lt. Col. Togun while questioning Giwa had claimed that he wasn’t aware of the fact that Akilu had already questioned Giwa over the gun running allegations the day before, this was after Giwa had brought it to his attention.
Giwa reported the interrogations to his friend Prince Tony Momoh who was then the Minister of Communications, Giwa had told Momoh that he feared for his life because of the weight of the accusations levelled against him. According to Ekpu, Momoh “dismissed it as a joke and said the security men just wanted to rattle him”; Momoh promised to look into the matter. On October 18, Giwa also spoke to Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, the Chief of General Staff who said he was familiar with the matter and also promised to look into it.
Later on 18 October, a day before the bombing, a staff of the DMI had phoned Giwa’s house and asked for his office phone number from his wife Funmi. This same person from the DMI later called back to say he couldn’t reach Giwa at the office and then put Col Akilu on the line.
Ekpu alleges that Akilu asked Giwa’s wife for driving directions to the house and when she asked him why he needed the directions he explained that he wanted to stop by the house on his way to Kano and he wasn’t very familiar with Ikeja, he also offered that the President’s ADC had something for Giwa, probably an invitation. According to Ekpu this didn’t come as a surprise because Giwa had received advance copies of some of the President’s speeches in the past through Akilu.
On October 19, Giwa phoned Akilu to ask why he had been calling his house the previous day, Akilu was alleged to have explained that he only wanted to tell Giwa that the matter had been resolved. Ekpu says Giwa replied Akilu that it wasn’t over and that he had already informed his lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi to follow up on the matter. Akilu then told Giwa that there was no need for that, that it wasn’t a matter for lawyers and that he should consider the matter resolved.
About 40 minutes after the telephone conversation with Akilu, a package was delivered to Giwa’s guard (the accounts of which vehicle was used to deliver the package vary). When Giwa received the package, he was with Kayode Soyinka (London Bureau Chief of Newswatch).
The package exploded, mortally wounded Giwa and temporarily deafening Soyinka, who had excused himself to the rest room shortly before Giwa was supposed to have attempted opening the package. Giwa was rushed to the hospital where he eventually died from hiswounds.
MAY ELLEN
May Ellen Ezekiel who left Newswatch to establish defunct Classique Magazine allowed herself to be used by the Kaduna Mafia to publish slanderous publications against Maharaj Ji, both the publisher and publication died prematurely. May Ellen Ezekiel, we are told died of complications arising from childbirth, which the Grace of Maharaj Ji can take care at home without Orthodox medicare free of charge with ease.
The Divine Grace of Maharaj Ji’s has done it for many, even in more complicated cases. A typical case is that of the wife of a devotee of Maharaj Ji, SP Isa Babatunde, who had a similar case and was rushed to the theatre for caesarian operation. While the doctors were getting ready for the operation, the husband knelt down by the hospital bed and started singing Arti, The Devotional Song that clears dangers within seconds. By the time the doctors were ready to carry out the operation the baby came out naturally.
TUNDE OLADEPO
Oladepo, a Senior Correspondent with The Guardian Newspaper in Lagos, was murdered by five masked gunmen, who entered his home early in the morning and shot him to death in front of his wife and children on February 26, 1998. Nothing was removed from Oladepo’s residence, ruling out robbery as a motive. Oladepo was until recently Bureau Chief of The Guardian’s State Office in Ogun State and was covering political affairs. Co-workers believe he was murdered because of his work as a journalist.
OKEZIE AMARUBEN
Amaruben, the publisher of News service magazine, was shot and killed by a police officer in Enugu State on September 2, 1998. Amaruben, was checking on a printing job being done for him in a shop when police officers verbally and physically attacked him. One placed a pistol to his forehead and hit him with the gun after he had identified himself as a journalist.
People at the scene told police officers that Amaruben was not the person they were looking for. He was being forced into a police vehicle when the officer fired his gun and the bullet pierced Amaruben’s skull. Authorities confirmed that the officer who shot Amaruben was arrested shortly after the murder.
It was not clear who was responsible for Ikwuebe’s death. It was alleged that the state military administration at that time was very sensitive about news coverage of the fighting, which left several hundred people dead, and the environment was a dangerous one for journalists.
SAM NIMFA-JAN
Nimfa-Jan, a journalist with the magazine Details, based in Jos, Plateau State, was killed in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, during ethnic clashes on May 27, 1999. He was on assignment covering riots between the Hausa Fulani and Zangon-Kataf groups that broke out over the installation of a new emir (traditional local leader) in the Jema’a area. Nigerian journalists, quoting local residents, said that Nimfa-Jan’s corpse was found with arrows protruding from its back. Suspicions were apparently high that Hausas had killed him.
SAMSON BOYI
Boyi, a photojournalist with the Adamawa State owned newspaper The Scope, was killed when about 30 armed men attacked the convoy of the state governor, Haruna Bonnie, who was travelling from the state capital, Yola, to the town of Bauchi on November 5, 1999. Boyi was one of several journalists assigned to cover the trip.
Neither the identity nor the motive of the attackers has been determined. When they opened fire on the convoy, the governor’s security guards fired back. Boyi died in the crossfire. His colleague, Umar Mustapha, a Yola-based reporter with the Nigeria Television Authority, sustained bullet wounds
DIMGBA IGWE
The case of late Dimgba Igwe was quite pathetic. As a staunch Christian journalist, Igwe had always expressed his desire to inter in the course of his journalism career. Fortunately, Dimgba Igwe lived his dream but was not conscious of it but died when he got knocked down by a hit-and-run driver along the road, during an early morning jugging exercise.
GODWIN AGBROKO
Godwin Agbroko, editorial board chairman of the private daily ThisDay Newspaper, he was found shot to death in his car, according to local and international media reports. The circumstances of the killing were not immediately clear. Several initial reports quoted a ThisDay statement as saying that Agbroko was slain when he encountered the scene of a robbery.
CPJ sources were unable to confirm that description. Local journalists told CPJ that Agbroko was killed by a single shot to the neck, and that his valuables were untouched. Agbroko, 53, was a former Editor of Newswatch and The Week Magazines, as well as the African Guardian which was shut down in 1994 by the military regime of Sani Abacha. In 1996, still under the Abacha regime, Agbroko spent several months in jail for his work.
In 1997, PEN American Center awarded him its prestigious Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. At ThisDay, he was not only Board Chairman but also a prominent columnist with a weekly column, “This Nation.
PAUL ABAYOMI OGUNDEJI
On August 17, 2008, at about 10.30 p.m Mr. Paul Abayomi Ogundeji, a member of the editorial board of the Lagos-based private daily newspaper “ThisDay”, was shot dead in Dopemu, a suburb of Lagos, by yetto-be identified gunmen. According to the Nigerian Police, while driving home Ogundeji was ambushed by armed robbers who had earlier stolen another car. The police allege that the bandits ordered him to stop and to open his car door, and that when he refused to obey, the robbers shot him. Nothing was removed from the Kia Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) which he was driving.
BAYO OHU
Ohu, 45, an Assistant News Editor, The Guardian, was shot by unidentified assailants as he answered a knock at the front door of his house in Lagos on
September 20, 2009. The six assailants took a laptop and cell phone, according to the journalist’s relatives and local news reports.
He was allegedly killed for his political reporting, especially his investigation into alleged fraud in Customs. In May 2012, the court freed three suspects charged with Ohu’s murder on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to prove the case.
NATHAN S. DABAK AND SUNDAY GYANG BWEDE
They had chartered a motorcycle to travel to a scheduled interview with national parliamentarian Bitrus Kaze concerning ongoing out breaks of deadly violence between Muslims and Christians in the area. Dabak and Bwede were stabbed by Muslim youths reacting to the discovery of a slain Muslim individual near a church
ZAKARIYA ISA
Isa, 41, a reporter and cameraman for the Nigeria Television Authority NTA), was killed in Borno State on October 22, 2011.
In an email statement issued after the killing, Boko Haram spokesman Abul Qaqa said the militants killed Isa “because he was spying on us for the Nigerian security authorities.”
NANSOK SALLAH
The body of Sallah, News Editor for the government-owned radio station Highland FM, he was found face down in a shallow stream under a bridge in the central town of Jos, less than 200 meters (650 feet) from a military checkpoint, local journalists told Committee to Protect Journalists.
Sallah, 46, had a wound on his head behind his right ear, seemingly from a sharp object, but there were no bruises on his body, Highland FM General Manager, Terzungwe Wua told CP J. Sallah was the producer of Highland Profile, a weekly call-in program, but had not reported any threats, Highland FM Head of News and Current Affairs Nanbam Go’ar told CPJ.
ENENCHE AKOGWU
Unidentified gunmen shot Akogwu, 31, a reporter and camera operator with Channels TV, as he interviewed witnesses of terrorist attacks in Kano on January 20, 2012. Akogwu, had just returned from a police news conference following coordinated bombings by the extremist Islamist group, Boko Haram.
IKECHUKWU UDENDU
Unidentified men shot dead Ikechukwu Udendu, Editor of Anambra News, a monthly newspaper in South-Eastern Anambra State, while he was returning home at night from a commercial printing house in the city of Onitsha. Udendu had gone to the printing company to see if the paper was ready for distribution, the reports said.
Chukwulozie Udendu, publisher of Anambra News and Udendu’s brother, told local journalists that he had received an anonymous phone call on Saturday night in which he was told to retrieve the journalist’s body in front of a local restaurant, news reports said.
FAMOUS GIOBARO
Mr Famous Giobaro, staff of Bayelsa State owned Glory FM 97.1, has been murdered. VANGUARD reports that Giobaro was killed by gunmen at his residence in INEC Road, Kpasia in Yenagoa, the State Capital.
Unidentified gunmen on Sunday killed a journalist, Famous Giobaro, in his residence at INEC Road, Kpasia in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. A witness said the gunmen stormed his apartment at about 5 a.m on Sunday, April 16, 2017, where they had stiff resistance from the late journalist who barricaded the door as they tried to forcefully gain entrance into his house. The gunmen later shot through the door which hit him in the stomach. The assailants then bust open his kitchen door, entered his bedroom and shot him several times before they left the area.
LAWRENCE OKOJIE AND IKECHUKWU ONUBOGU
Unknown assailants shot dead Lawrence Okojie, a reporter with the Nigerian Television Authority, on the evening of July 8, 2017, in Benin, the capital of Edo state, as he travelled home from work. In August 2017, local authorities attributed the murder to “cultists” who were fighting in the area, saying that Okojie was killed when he stumbled upon them. While, Ikechukwu was a cameraman in Anambra State. He was shot dead by unknown gunmen on November 12, 2017.
JAMAL KHASHOGGI
For instance, Khashoggi who was murdered brutally right inside the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul would have escaped death, if he was in Divine Knowledge of Maharaj Ji.
Today, the world now knows conclusively the horrible fate that befell the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, ‘Turkey, on October 2, 2018. Khashoggi was lured to the Consulate to pick up papers that would seal his divorce from his Saudi-born wife and clear the way for him to marry his Turkish fiancée. Life was about to take a more agreeable turn for the exiled journalist, a reporter and columnist for the Washington Post.
He headed to the Consulate that day, accompanied by his fiancée. The visit would be brief; she would wait outside, and they would return to their residence with a passport to their wedded future. Hours passed by, and he did not come out of the Consulate. Alarmed, she alerted the Turkish authorities. Surveillance video showed a man wearing the clothes Khashoggi had on when he entered the Saudi Consulate. But the man was not Khashoggi. He did not show up that day, or the next, or the day after. It would turn out that he had set out on a one-way trip, a mission of no return.
What happened to Khashoggi? For lack of Divine Knowledge, Khashoggi blindly walked into death through a brutal murder allegedly programmed and executed by the Saudi Authorities, when it is written in the scriptures that “even though I walk in the valley and shadow of death, I fear no evil because thou art with me.” (Psalm 23:1)
If he has received Divine Knowledge, The Light would have exposed the evil machinations fashioned against him and equally guided him away from all dangers! He would have been alive till today and the evil-plotters will be falling by his wayside, since man reaps what he sows.
PRECIOUS OWOLABI
Precious Owolabi, a reporter for the privately owned Channels TV, was shot while covering a confrontation between Shiite Muslim protesters and the Nigerian police and died the same day after being taken to a hospital, according to a Channels TV broadcast uploaded to its YouTube page. He had been covering a protest over the detention of Ibrahim Yaqoub El Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria
Channels TV said that Owolabi was working at the station as part of Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps, a one-year work assignment carried out by all graduates before the age of 30.
MAXWELL NASHAN
Maxwell Nashan, a newscaster with government-owned Federal Radio Corporation (FRCN), appears to have been abducted from his home before being bound, gagged and hacked to death.
Women who discovered Nashan in the early hours of January 15, 2020 contacted Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, who rushed to the scene but were unable to save Nashan, who died shortly after arriving at a hospital.
ALEX OGBU
On January 21, 2020 Ogbu, a Reporter and Editor with the local independent outlet Regent Africa Times, he died from head injuries sustained at a protest in Abuja, the capital, held by members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria religious organization. According to Regent Africa Times publisher, Shola Akingboye and Francisca Ogbu, the journalist’s wife, who both spoke to CPJ over messaging app and phone calls.
Police told Francisca Ogbu that her husband died after he slipped and hit his head on a rock, she told CPJ. However, the local privately owned news website Sahara Reporters published a report on January 23, saying that police had shot and killed Ogbu.
ONIFADE PELUMI
Onifade Pelumi, a Nigerian reporter and intern with the privately owned Gboah TV broadcaster, was found dead on October 30, 2020, in a mortuary in South-Western Lagos state. According to Pelumi’s family lawyer, Lekan Egberongbe, who spoke with Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in a phone interview, and a statement by local media protection group, Media Rights Agenda.
He was last seen alive on October 24, in the custody of Police Officers in the State Capital, Ikeja, where he had gone to cover an attempted break-in at a government facility, according to the lawyer, in a statement, and a family friend of the journalist, who spoke with CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal.
DIVINE KNOWLEDGE AND RIGHTS DENIAL
My good friends of the Pen Profession let’s wake up because with My Divine Knowledge, nobody can deny you of your rights and get away with it, talk less losing your life to death which is man’s stupid mistake for failing to listen to the Divine Master whenever He is around.
Let’s look at the sad case of Mahmoud Hussein, the Al-Jazeera journalist whose fundamental human right was denied of him for 4 years in the course of performing his professional duties as a journalist.
MAHMOUD HUSSEIN
The Al-jazeera Egyptian-born journalist, who was held in Egyptian prison for four years, (approximately 1504 days) without being charged
or going through trial, until his release on February 6, 2021. His incarceration was in violation of Egyptian law and was condemned by
international rights group, media freedom organizations and the United Nations.
Hussein joined Al-Jazeera’s Cairo bureau as a correspondent in 2010, after serving as a freelancer for the network. When the Egyptian authorities closed Al Jazeera’s Cairo office in 2013, he moved to the headquarters in Doha, Capital of Qatar to work as a news producer.
On December 20, 2016, he was arrested shortly after his arrival in Egypt, while on a visit to see his family. He was questioned for 14 hours without a lawyer before he was released. Hussein was arrested for a second time on December 23, 2016, and accused of “incitement against State
institutions and broadcasting false news with the aim of spreading chaos.
Yet, despite the global outcry and condemnation that greeted his arrest, illegal detention and calls for his release, Hussein was denied his right His case would have been different, if he was in Divine Knowledge, because no mortal would have contemplated detaining him unlawfully without trial as a Child of Light and go scot-free, no matter how highly placed.
Let’s take a look at the case of Nelson Mandela, the late first Black President of South Africa, through the popular mandate of the people of South Africa.
“At the time Guru Maharaj Ji manifested in India in the body of Guru Nanak, the very spirit that reincarnated in South Africa in the 20th century as Dr. Nelson Mandela- the former president of Africa National Congress (ANC), was then a high-ranking Police Officer in India. Winnie Mandela also in an earlier body, was a high society lady who belonged to the generation of the almighty women of negativity.
“The conspiracy of the generation of cold-blooded women sponsored her to trap and befriend Nelson Mandela in his earlier body and she succeeded. No sooner had she gained access into the life of Mandela then she manipulated Mandela to attack the Premies of Guru Nanak. Those
Premies who were detained for 27 days and were seriously punished due to no fault of their own took Nelson Mandela and his girlfriend to the Spiritual Court. Nelson was sentenced for the crime he committed in India, the Ancestor’s ruling then was for detaining Premies for 27 days, so it was decided by the Ancestors that each of the days he detained Guru Nanak’s Premies should be converted to a year. Hence, he served 27 years in prison.
“As the spirit of the earlier body of Nelson Mandela reincarnated in South Africa, so also his girlfriend, Winnie who trapped him into marriage this time to commit crime against his Ancestors. As a result of many spiritual trickery by Winnie Mandela, Nelson was arrested by the apartheid government in South Africa, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment physically by the apartheid court but spiritually by Winnie Mandela against her husband.
“At the crux of the situation, the Divine Actors wanted to intervene, but those Premies that Mandela used his position and power as the Commissioner of Police in India in his past body to punish, ruled against such intervention.
“Subsequently, at the completion of the period he supposed to serve in prison, Satguru Maharaj Ji intervened and ordered his release, and he was released. Winnie Mandela on the other hand, used her witchcraft and her minor forms and ladies of vineyards to manipulate the machinery of the ANC to enjoy more than her fair share of political autonomy and influence.
“In such circumstances, she saw the release of Nelson Mandela as a threat to her political autonomy. But with the support of the almighty women of valor, she planned to use the neo-colonialists to assassinate her husband during a political campaign. At the height of the conspiracy of Winnie Mandela, the Divine Actors intervened and disorganized their marriage. All other avenues yet to be revealed are left to history.”……….. Excerpts from a Divine Public Lecture delivered by Satguru Maharaj Ji at the African Leadership Forum, Ota Farm, Ota, Ogun State on March 11-13, 1994.
“In the matrix of life, the essence of death is a confounding riddle. Why does God give and take life? Why and how should man die? When is the best time for man to die before his fellow man could be pleased with the Creator?” …. Jude Okwe (New Age, Friday October 22, 2004.)
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there.” …. Steve Jobs
“If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character …. would you slow down? Or speed up?” ….. Chuck Palahniuk
“Death is caused by spiritual indolence, that is, by taking sides with the body. God is a spirit and whoever that understands this area and chooses the spirit does not enter the grave because he is going to be like the Creator, manifesting.” …. Satguru Maharaj Ji
