News about the death of the former Peoples Democratic Party Chairman’s son, Haliru Mohammed Bello has filled the air recently, with different accounts as to what really transpired between the duo.
Some Nigerians have concluded that the alleged stabbing was as a result of jealousy from his wife, Maryam Sanda, who saw a text message from another woman on his phone, while others have submitted that he had been physically abused by his wife multiple times as a result of arguments.
The Nigerian police have begun investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of Bello.
Meanwhile, ‘TheCable’, an online news site has reported the account of one Habib Gajam whom the only information they provided about him is that he lives in Abuja and has a twitter account.
The claims by Gajam whose relationship with the couple is unknown, were not verified by the independent news media, yet they were published.
The only relationship ETN24 could find between Gajam and the deceased is that Gajam claims to be a friend of the deceased, a claim The Cable did not verify.
Innalillahi We Innaa Ilaihi Raaji’uun😢. A friend’s life was ended by his spouse last night, after a fight.
— Gidado (@Habibgajam) November 19, 2017
TheCable report described Mr Gajam as “one Habib Gajam, a resident of Abuja…” The said reports have been flying around social media for days without the Author’s name.
Meanwhile, the headline of TheCable’s report actually did confirm Mr. Gajam a witness whereas there is no evidence, aside the man’s claim made on twitter.
Journalists have hid behind the right to not reveal source to just plainly speculate and give opinions on news report. It is common to hear “according to a source” whereas the information coming is coming from the journalist’s imagination.
This case however is a unique one because the source of this vital information is mentioned. The question on the mind of media watchers is if anyone on social can claim to be a witness to any incident and his account of such incident get’s published as witness report without any verification or mention of one, why then do people have to get their news from media houses?
