June 13, 2025 | BILLIRI
The family of slain Nigerian journalist Bagauda Kaltho has lauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for bestowing a posthumous national honour on the fearless investigative reporter—nearly three decades after he disappeared under the brutal regime of General Sani Abacha.
In an emotional statement released on Wednesday and signed by his widow, Mrs. Martha Bagauda Kaltho, the family described the gesture as “a long-awaited recognition of truth, courage, and sacrifice.”
<span;>> “We are profoundly grateful to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for this national honour,” Mrs. Kaltho said. “This is more than just a medal; it is a powerful affirmation that my husband’s life and work mattered—and still matter today.”
Bagauda Kaltho vanished between late 1996 and early 1997 while reporting on the widespread human rights abuses during Nigeria’s military dictatorship. Known for his hard-hitting exposes and fearless journalism, his disappearance shocked the nation. Though widely believed to have been killed by state agents, the precise details of his death have remained unresolved.
Mrs. Kaltho recalled that this is not the first time Tinubu has remembered her husband. In 1999, as governor of Lagos State, Tinubu renamed the state’s press centre in Bagauda’s honour.
<span;>> “Even back then, President Tinubu showed that he understood the value of my husband’s work,” she said. “Renaming the Lagos press centre in his name gave us strength. But today’s national honour brings closure—it tells us the nation remembers and respects the truth.”
She emphasized that the award provides long-denied moral justice.
<span;>> “This is a vindication of all that he stood for,” she said. “It silences the doubters, the deniers, and the defamers. For years, people questioned his integrity, his disappearance, even the truth of our pain. But now, with this recognition, justice has finally spoken.”
The Kaltho family expressed appreciation to friends, colleagues, and rights activists who stood by them through years of grief and silence.
<span;>> “To all those who refused to let Bagauda’s name be erased—journalists, human rights defenders, and friends—we say thank you,” she said. “You kept his memory alive when it was dangerous to do so.”
Mrs. Kaltho also used the occasion to urge today’s journalists to draw courage from her husband’s legacy.
<span;>> “Let this honour be a rallying call to young reporters: do not fear the truth. Do not be cowed by intimidation or violence. My husband paid the price for truth, but today, the nation has finally said it was worth it.”
The national recognition of Kaltho is being celebrated by press freedom advocates as a long-overdue but symbolic victory for Nigeria’s embattled media. Many see it as a reminder of the unresolved disappearances, harassment, and killings of journalists who dared to confront power during the darkest days of the country’s military rule.
Reacting to the honour, a senior journalist and press freedom advocate, Lanre Arogundade, called it “a moral reckoning.”
<span;>> “Bagauda Kaltho is a symbol of fearless journalism. Recognizing him now is a good step forward,” Arogundade said. “But Nigeria must go further—by protecting today’s journalists from going through the same fate.”
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has also praised the move, calling it “a critical moment of reflection on the sacrifices made by media practitioners in defense of democracy.”
Bagauda Kaltho’s story has become emblematic of the risks faced by journalists in Nigeria. For years, his name echoed in media and rights campaigns as a symbol of press suppression and enforced disappearance.
With this national recognition, his family hopes his legacy will finally be secured—not just in memory, but in the conscience of a nation that once tried to forget.
<span;>> “We will carry this moment in our hearts forever,” Mrs. Kaltho concluded. “And we hope Nigeria never forgets what it means to speak the truth, no matter the cost.”
