‘My Twitter account has been blocked’ — Salkida raises the alarm

The Twitter account of Ahmad Salkida,  a journalist known to have access to the leadership of the Boko Haram sect, has been blocked.

The journalist disclosed this in a statement he issued on Tuesday.

Describing the social media platform as his “place of work” and “most important tool”, Salkida said he hopes he would not be denied the avenue to report the humanitarian crises.

A check on the account, @A_Salkida, shows it has been censored.

“Caution: This account is temporarily restricted. You’re seeing this warning because there has been some unusual activity from this account. Do you still want to view it?,” information on the account read.

According to Salkida, he has dedicated over a decade of his career to report the insurgency in the Lake Chad axis.

In one his most recent reports on insurgency, he claimed only 30 of the abducted Chibok girls are still alive.

Salkida said in reporting the crisis,  he has not done anything unprofessional else,  “I wouldn’t be here to narrate this story”.

“Twitter is my most important tool as an independent journalist. I have used Twitter over the years as a news media platform,” Salkida said

“My Twitter page is my work place. Many of my tweets have not only made local and international news headlines, but it brought some deep understanding about the crisis in the Lake Chad region, which is my community.

“There is nothing polarising about my reporting of the Boko Haram crisis. In fact, if I have crossed the line professionally, I wouldn’t be here today to narrate this story.

“I hope Twitter will not deny me the only platform I have to escalate awareness on the human crisis situation in the Lake Chad area.”