Mrs Martha Bagauda Kaltho, wife veteran journalist, Bagauda Kaltho, whose whereabouts have surrounded with controversies since 1997, has said that there are possibilities that her husband is not dead. Kaltho, who was a journalist with TheNews Magazine, has been missing after he was allegedly declared wanted dead or alive by the government of now late Gen. Sani Abacha.Mrs Kaltho, who won N1million from Who Deserves To Be A Millionaire (WDTBAM), a popular TV programme produced by Ultima Limited on Sunday 18 May, 2014 said till date, she is not sure whether her husband is dead or not.
She explained that “Mr Bagauda Kaltho is my husband; we married in the year 1990, 29 September precisely. When we got married, he was working with The NEWS Magazine. Throughout our stay, we were happy. We stayed peacefully and we enjoyed our togetherness. God blessed us with two children, all females. The first one is Anne James Bagauda, the second one Lessi James Bagauda.
“When we got married, because of his work, he was mostly staying in Kaduna, while I resided in Biliri, working with the National Orientation Agency. We usually meet whenever he was chanced, once in a month or twice. He came home from Kaduna in the year 1996 for Christmas and told me while departing that he would be coming back around February.
“Before then, some of his friends had told me that the government wanted him dead or alive, so with that information, I was afraid. I was scared and I told him to be very careful. That was during Abacha regime, so after the Christmas celebration in December 1996, he went back to Kaduna.
“By February, I waited for him –he did not come. I was afraid as I knew there was this information about him being wanted by the government. When I did not see him, I decided to ask some of his friends who could not tell me his whereabouts as well. Some of his friends asked me to wait until April during Easter celebration that they would come home and furnish me with whatever information they have. Unfortunately, when they came, there was no one who knew his whereabouts, so I went to his office in Kaduna, but there was no positive response.
“In fact, the people in Kaduna gave me the impression that I was the one that alerted them because all along they believed he was in a hideout. My complaint now came to be a sort of revelation. They went searching for him. I was also searching for him. Whenever I hear from the news that some of the detainees were released, I would always be there to check for him but without success for some.
“So, when the Human Right Violation Commission set up by the government gave us the opportunity to complain, we narrated what happened and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. The then government representative said they didn’t know anything about it, instead they told me he died in Durban Hotel, Kaduna. They said there was a bomb blast there and that he was the one that died there. I was surprised to hear that because since they knew he was dead, what was preventing them from telling his relations, especially me his wife or his parents. We were not informed and it was surprising. Since that time till date, there has been no news again about it. Is he alive? Did they kill him? We don’t know. That was how I continued staying and praying with my two children.”
The mother of two, who has refused to remarry after the disappearance of her husband, reiterated that she did not believe Kaltho is dead because his body, which can serve as the evidence, has not been produced.
Asked why she didn’t remarry, Mrs Kaltho said “I am no longer interested in remarrying. What if James (Bagauda) appears tomorrow? Why must I share his love with another person? Would another man love me the way he did? Would he love my children the way they should and should have been loved?”
She stated further that the N1m prize money she got from the millionaire show will be used to complete a house she has managed to erect.
-Orukpe Nelson