Could This Guy be Selling Deadly Boko Haram Videos Secretly?
British Television Broadcaster, Channel 4, stated that Salkida sought to sell the third and latest video released by the sect to select foreign media organisations.
“Mr. Salkida, who is understood to have shown the video to President Jonathan, is also believed to have tried — unsuccessfully — to sell rights to the footage to international television stations for a substantial, but undisclosed, sum of money.
“News of this is said to have resulted in his falling out with the Boko Haram commanders with whom he was dealing.” Now this is dangerous...
But in an exclusive chat with Punch on Thursday, Salkida said he was shocked by a report making the rounds that he was profiting from the Boko Haram insurgency. He said at no time had he, in his long term relationship with the leadership of the sect, traded exclusive Boko Haram videos for money.
Describing the report as “junk journalism,” the 40-year-old freelance journalist, who had since relocated his family to the United Arab Emirates, said he would have become “wealthy” if he had chosen that path.
“If I want to sell videos I would be a wealthy man because my sources can give me every single one of their videos,” Salkida, who refused to disclose his location, told Punch via electronic mail.
He alleged that there were a lot of “media junks” flying around specifically targeted at bringing him down. On his level of involvement in reported negotiations with the insurgents aimed at freeing the Chibok schoolgirls, the reporter said he would not want it to become a media affair.
“I’m not keen on taking my efforts to the media and I am not clarifying anything. I wish you all the best with your work. Goodluck once again,” the Boko Haram negotiator said.
