The minister of information and culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed, has condoled with the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, over the recent death of the former chairman of the NUJ, Abuja Chapter, Mr. Chuk Ehirim.
Chuk Ehirim passed died on his 50th birthday on Thursday, June 16, 2016. A fellow journalist, Chucks Ohuegbe said he had called Ehirim’s wife to wish him a happy birthday only to be informed that he had passed away a few hours earlier.
In a statement in Abuja on Saturday, June 18, 2016, Lai Mohammed said he received the news of Ehirim’s demise with shock and sadness.
The information minister described him as a “patriot and quintessential journalist” who committed himself to the pursuance of improved welfare and security for journalists in Nigeria.
The statement, signed by a media aide to the minister, Segun Adeyemi, called Chuk Ehirim’s death a huge loss to the journalism profession.
He prayed that God will grant repose the soul of the deceased and grant his family and the NUJ the fortitude to bear their irreparable loss.
He graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1992 and obtained a master’s degree from the same university.
Chuk Ehirim was the chairman of the Abuja chapter of the NUJ from 2012 to 2015. Before his death he was the assistant editor, northern operations of Niche Magazine before his death.
A friend, Amos Dunia, described the death of the journalist as “shocking and devastating”.
