How wanted Journalist Sildika was tracked and arrested after his UAE visa expired

Barely three weeks after he was declared wanted, Ahmed Salkida, a journalist who is believed to have links with Boko Haram, was arrested yesterday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja.

A top intelligence source, told the Nation that, Salikda, who was issued an Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) by the Nigerian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, did not return to the country with members of his family, a development which made the security agencies to be curious about their whereabouts.


The Nigerian Immigration Service profile on Salkida indicated that his passport expired on August 16.The dossier also claimed that Salkida’s residence permit in the UAE had also expired.
The source said:

“After he was declared wanted by the Army, Salkida approached our mission in the UAE for the renewal of his passport to return to Nigeria to prove his innocence.
“But based on security reasons, we said we can only oblige him ETC and he should come home to get a new travelling document.
“We also knew that his residence permit in the UAE had expired and we collaborated with relevant agencies to ensure that it is not renewed. We wielded diplomatic influence to prevent him from seeking political asylum under any guise.
“On Sunday, Salkida was granted the ETC by our Embassy to come home and we started tracking his movement from the UAE.

“Upon arrival on the Emirates flight, he was arrested by the DSS, having been watch-listed by the Army.”

Another military source said:

“The arrival of Salkida will enable the military and other security agencies to probe how Boko Haram has been releasing video clips and the whereabouts of the Chibok girls.
“We may also invite more people suspected to be working in concert with Salkida. Certainly, it is going to be a comprehensive investigation.
“All I can assure you is that we will carry out this probe in line with international best practices. We will accord the journalist his rights as much as possible under the law.
“We will also confront him with intelligence at our disposal too in order to enable him to respond to our enquiries.”

The Nation