Worried by the growing spate of insecurity in the country, the National President of the Nigeria Union Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Mohammed Garba has urged governments at all levels to be proactive in the fight against kidnapping and general insecurity in the land.
The president gave the charge Wednesday during the ground breaking ceremony of the new secretariat building of the Rivers State Council of the NUJ at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
The president decried the kidnapping of broadcaster and on-air personality, Anthony Akatakpo, alias Akas Baba.
Garuba, who lamented the increasing threat to the lives of journalists in the course of carrying out their duties, said the foremost responsibility of government was to protect the lives of the citizens, a task he said, should not be compromised.
The NUJ president also commended the developmental strides of the Rivers State Government, especially in the construction of brand new state-of-the-art secretariat complex for the NUJ in Rivers State.
In his remarks, the National President of Radio Television and Theatre Workers Union (RATTAWU), Dr Abel Gbamgbose, lauded the information and communications management policy of Rivers State Government, noting that Rivers State was the first to host the State Council on Information in Nigeria.
The RATTAWU boss also urged the Rivers State Government to upgrade the facilities of the state-owned media for better service delivery..
Earlier, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari had stated that the gesture of the government to build a secretariat for the NUJ was in recognition of the role of journalists in the development of the society.
Meanwhile, a former Director of the State Security Service (SSS), Chief Albert K. Horsfall has cautioned the youth in Rivers State against being used by politicians to destabilize their communities during the forth-coming general elections.
Horsfall said  at a peace and security conference organized by his foundation and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council, that rather than taking guns from politicians to kill their people, the youth should ask for education and jobs from politicians.
He warned that Rivers State must never be allowed to descend to the pre-2007 period when anarchy was let loose in the state.
Horsfall, who attributed some of the crisis in the state to the refusal of people to tell the truth, said the time has come for Rivers people to stand up to challenge those who threaten the peace and stability of the state, stressing that having suffered so much in the past, the state deserves peace and tranquillity..
Horsfall said that the conference was necessitated by the need to avoid a breakdown of law and order during the forth-coming elections.
Also speaking, the chairman of the occasion, Ambassador Chukwudi D. Orike described the conference as timely in view of the present volatile nature of the state and the country.
While attributing the causes of violence to bad governance, injustice and inequality, he lamented the criminalization of politics, and stated that the lost glory of Rivers State as a peaceful state can be restored, if deliberate efforts are made to restore peace.
According to him, this can be achieved, if volunteers from the 23 local government areas work together with the A.K Horsfall Foundation to expel the forces of evil.
Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council, Mr Opaka Dokubo said that the conference has provided the platform for stakeholders to talk on the peace and security of the state.
Dokubo also commended the A.K Horsfall Foundation for the support, noting that for a long time, journalists across the state have been yearning for support to advance the cause of peace in the state.

Taneh Beemene