Popular online news portal Sahara Reporters has come under heavy criticism for its recent report on the death of a Lagos based banker whose cause of death was yet to be ascertained at the time it went to town broadcasting that he died of Covid-19. A source close to the family expressed shock and disbelief that a news outlet of the caliber of Sahara Reporters could base its report from faceless posts on Facebook when the journalist that filed the story could have made a little effort to either speak with the employers, or seek out the family.
The source who prefer not to be named at this point said that the family was devastated that Sahara Reporters went ahead to publish the photograph of the man without family consent and without confirmation of the real cause of his death. Such crass unprofessional and rush for the sensational should be beyond any responsible medium, the source said, adding that that publication was a source of great embarrassment for the family as friends and very close relatives including siblings got to learn of the death from the publication.
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Throwing light to the issue the source noted that the late Innocent Iwunna (35) who until his death was a staff of Union Bank Nigeria Plc took ill during the lockdown, suspecting Malaria and Typhoid Fever; his family placed him on medications while efforts were made to take him to the hospital. Unfortunately, all three hospitals visited refused to see him as they said they were no more receiving patients because of the outbreak of the pandemic, and the need to safeguard their facilities. Unable to get proper medical care for him, his case started to deteriorate as the only option left was to reach out the NCDC isolation centre in Yaba believing that that is the only place he would get medical attention.
Unfortunately, he did not receive the much-needed attention there as he was left unattended to for a longer period while his case worsened and when he was attended to, he was almost losing strength. Later, a test for Covid-19 was carried out on him on the 25th of April and while the result of the test was being awaited, he gave up the ghost on the 5th of May. Where then did Sahara Reporters get the information on his real cause of death, he asked.
So it was such a shock to the family that while some members are yet to come to the reality of the sad news, Sahara Reporters went to town broadcasting about his death. Claiming that he died of Covid-19. Equally unfortunate was the response from his employers, Union Bank Plc who made no effort to reach out or contact the family as soon as they heard the news, instead they were more interested in sending out press releases trying to deflate the narrative by saying that Mr. Innocent Iwunna got ill at home not while he was at work all in an effort to protect the image of the Bank, even though the employee was working remotely.
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The late Innocent Iwunna who graduated from the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, studied Agricultural Extension. The source said that the family would like to be left to mourn in peace in this period of their bereavement.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry