Vanguard reporter Salem killed by hit and run driver – Police

The Nigerian Police has disclosed that the missing Vanguard newspaper reporter, Tordue Salem, found dead in Abuja, was killed by a hit and run driver.

Salem, who covered the House of Representatives, got missing on October 13, in Abuja, at about 8p.m.

The police announced its finding on Friday, while parading a 29-year-old Itoro Clement, suspected to have killed the journalist.

Addressing the media on the incident, the Force Public Relations Officer, CP Frank Mba, said upon interrogation, Clement, who is a commercial driver, said he hit Salem around Mabushi/Wuse area of Abuja metropolis, at about 10p.m., on the day he was last seen.

He alleged the driver took off immediately and never reported the accident to the police.

Mba said further police investigation indicated that Salem’s body, already identified by members of his family, was deposited at Wuse General Hospital.

READ: Missing Vanguard newspaper reporter Salem found dead

He said the police were, however, able to retrieve three identity cards and two Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards of two commercial banks when the body was searched.

The identity cards included that of Vanguard, National Assembly and Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Asked who deposited reporter’s body and why the hospital did not contact the police at the time, Mba said he could not speak for the hospital.

The suspect, on his part, said he thought the person he knocked down was an armed robber.

He said the person hurriedly crossed the road as if he was being chased by some people, adding that the spot where the incident occurred was notably notorious.