Ms. Karen James, an investigative journalist, has gone into hiding following assassination attempts made against her after she allegedly uncovered corruption in the education system in Anambra State.
She said she was confronted with menacing death threats and multiple assassination attempts shortly after an extensive month-long investigation revealing widespread corruption and incompetence within Anambra State’s education system. These attacks, she said, are attempts to silence her because of her steadfast dedication to journalism.
Ms. James’ investigative work revealed the distressing saga of Blessed Wisdom Model School in Onitsha, which abruptly halted its third-term promotion examination and announced its immediate closure because a two-year-old had been allegedly flogged. This action left hundreds of schoolchildren stranded on the streets of Onitsha. She petitioned Dr. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the Anambra State governor about her findings.
In a petition submitted on August 10, 2023, to the Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, she detailed that her troubles began after exposing an alleged scandal within the Anambra State Ministry of Education. She emphasized that her month-long investigation had uncovered significant corruption, incompetence, and a blatant disregard for the public’s demand for transparency at Blessed Wisdom Model School saga which had led to the abrupt termination of the third term promotion examination, displacing over 600 schoolchildren onto the streets of Onitsha.
The investigation has been perceived as a direct assault on the Anambra State Education Ministry, thereby posing a threat to those holding positions of authority within the ministry.
