From Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
The journalists’ community in Kogi State was thrown into shock with the death of Mr. Abdullahi Ibrahim in a road accident along with his pregnant wife and three children. Ibrahim was a senior reporter with the Africa Independent Television (AIT) in the state.
Ibrahim was travelling to his hometown in Ankpa, Kogi State, to prepare for his daughter’s wedding slated for next month, when the incident wiped out almost his entire family.
The journalist and his family met their death on the road between Ojodu and Ochadamu communities along the Ajaokuta- Ayingba highway.
He was said to be travelling in his Peugeot 504 car with three of his children and his pregnant wife when it all ended tragically for them.
According to a witness, Ibrahim’s car was in a head-on collision with another vehicle when trying to negotiate a bend as a Toyota Hiace belonging to a popular transport company was also trying to overtake him.
Ibrahim, his three children and wife, who was five months pregnant, died instantly. The journalist, who was in his late 50s, had visited the Nigeria Union of Journalists press centre in Lokoja on the fateful day and had chatted amiably with his colleagues before he embarked on the journey he never imagined would be his end.
Before the incident, he had narrated his ordeal with a motorist who brushed his car that morning in Lokoja to his colleagues at the press centre. And he fixed the damaged car before embarking on the fatal trip.
His colleagues said he also brought his family for lunch at the NUJ press centre, Lokoja, and went off to fix the damage on his car before setting out for his hometown.
During the visit, he had also distributed his daughter’s wedding invitation cards to his colleagues and friends.
Ibrahim, who his colleagues described as a professional reporter, had worked with several newspapers, including the Sentinel, National Mirror, Royal Times and at a point, was publisher of the Trumpet Newspaper, before joining AIT.
He lost his first wife and daughter about five years ago mysteriously.
Reacting to the demise of the journalist, the chairman of the Lokoja correspondents’ chapel of the NUJ, Comrade Friday Idachaba, expressed shock and described him as “a very brilliant and hard-working journalist, who carved a niche for himself in the profession.”
He condoled with his family and prayed for fortitude for them to bear the loss.
His remains and those of family members have since been buried according to Islamic rites.