UNESCO chief calls for investigation into killing of Nigerian photographer

The head of the United Nations agency defending press freedom on Tuesday denounced the killing of a Nigerian photographer, calling for an investigation into the incident.

“I condemn the killing of Ikechukwu Onubogu,” said Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in a press release.

The photographer's body was found in Obosi town in the state of Anambras on 15 November. Neither his family nor his colleagues at Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) had seen or heard from Ikechukwu Onubogu since he had left home in the afternoon of 12 November.

“The perpetrators of this crime must be brought to justice in order to preserve freedom of expression, enshrined in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights,” Ms. Azoulay said.

“Governments must also protect journalists so as to prevent bloodshed from depriving the public of its right to access information,” she added.

UNESCO Director-General issues statements on violations of press freedoms and condemning the killing of media workers.