Four years after Northern Ireland journalist Martin O’Hagan was murdered by paramilitaries, the Police Service of Northern Ireland was urged to finally bring his killers to justice.
And delegates heard that a number of journalists believe “police collusion with loyalist paramilitaries” explains why O’Hagan’s killers have yet to face trial.
The NUJ also revealed that it is to lobby the Northern Ireland authorities to hand over the O’Hagan investigation to another police force outside Northern Ireland.
Derry-based journalist Eamon McCann said: “I know I am not the only journalist in this room who could, with some confidence, name the leader of the loyalist gang who murdered Martin O’Hagan and I am not the only journalist in this room who could name PSNI officers who know who killed Martin O’Hagan.
He added: “One of the reasons for the lack of progress in the investigation is that members of the PSNI are up to their necks in collusion with the Loyalist paramilitaries who carried out the murder.”
O’Hagan was shot dead while walking home from a visit to a local pub with his wife. He had a long track record of writing reports that exposed the gangster activities of Loyalist paramilitaries.
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