Journalists Face Existential Challenges in Nigeria – Experts
While anti-corruption reportage is instrumental in enhancing transparency and accountability in the Defence and Security sector, the media has hitherto faced persistent attacks, intimidation and harassment exposing operational disparities, financial mismanagement and procurement secrecy in the sector.
A cross-section of seasoned journalists made this known at a one-day media workshop on defence anti-corruption (financial management, gender and operational disparities) reportage, civic space, and oversight.
Organised by CISLAC/TI-Nigeria in collaboration with the Transparency International-Defence and Security Program with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the workshop was aimed at bringing journalists under one roof to develop their research skills and understanding of corruption risks and red flags in the Defence and Security sector, in order to enhance accurate and verifiable reportage.
They observed that media oversight activities of the Defence and Security sector must take cognisance of the persistent investigative journalism through thorough research and investigation, fact-findings, and verifiable presentation of targeted issues.
“Over-commercialised and politicised media outfits with profit-oriented tendency constitute an impediment to coverage and reporting objectivity.
“The unattended contradictory provisions of the FOI Act and Official Secrets Act remain a major challenge militating against media oversight of the Defence and Security sector.
“Over-commercialised and politicised media outfits with profit-oriented tendency constitute an impediment to coverage and reporting objectivity.
“Defence and security information inaccessibility endangers factual information gathering and reporting of the sector’s activities,” a communique issued after the workshop read in part.
The journalists concluded that harmonising the contradictory provisions of the FOI Act and Official Secrets Act to encourage independent and verifiable information gathering and reportage of the Defence and Security activities should be enforced
“Equally, enhancing collaboration through constructive relationship building with the Defence and Security information to elicit privileged information to fortify accurate and verifiable reportage should be looked into.
“Also vital is mitigating Defence and Security corruption through deliberate navigation of the Defence and Security financial, personnel and procurement activities, to fortify verifiable and factual reportage that raise public consciousness.
“There is also a need for technical simplification and de-classification of the Defence and Security budgetary information to enable exhaustive media oversight.
“Lastly and mos importantly, there is a need for training and re-training programmes for journalists on specific areas of the Defence and Security sector, to boost technical and research capacity for in-depth coverage and oversight of issues as well as verifiable reportage,” the experts added in the communique.
