A cameraman with Bauchi State Television Authority (BATV) Kabiru Ilaleh has died from injuries sustained in a road accident involving journalists covering activities of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC).
Mr. Ilaleh died in the early hours of Sunday, at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, where he had been receiving treatment for three weeks.
He was 56.
He held the traditional title of Matawallen Uban Dawakin Bauchi.
His death comes weeks after a Channels Television cameraman Kani Ben died from injuries sustained in the same accident.
Mr. Ben died on February 15, at ATBUTH.
He was 43 and is survived by his wife and two children.
The accident occurred on February 6, along the Yashi-Yelwan Duguri Road in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
Thirteen journalists from various media organisations were involved in the crash while covering the commissioning of projects by the NEDC.
The journalists were part of a delegation led by the Minister of State for Regional Development Uba Ahmadu, for the commissioning and handover of projects to the Bauchi State Government.
The team had earlier commissioned a Government Secondary School project in Yelwan Duguri before the accident.
Eyewitnesses said the crash happened when the driver conveying the journalists attempted to overtake a convoy.
The vehicle veered off the road and tumbled.
Ilaleh and Ben were the most critically injured.
They were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit before Ilaleh was later transferred to the Surgical Complex after surgery.
Other journalists who sustained injuries have since been treated and discharged.
Kabiru Ilaleh officially retired from the Bauchi State Government as a BATV staff member on February 18, while undergoing treatment.
His funeral prayer was led by the Deputy Chief Imam of Bauchi Inuwa Na’ibi at the Bauchi Central Mosque, after which he was buried according to Islamic rites.
Bauchi State governor Bala Mohammed expressed sorrow over Ilaleh’s death.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Mukhtar Gidado, the governor extended condolences to the family, BATV, the Bauchi State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists and the media community.
He also restated his administration’s commitment to the welfare and safety of journalists in the state.
Ilaleh is survived by his mother, two wives, seven children and other relatives.
