Conference Tasks Military, Media On Protecting National Security

A Military/Media Conference held in Abuja has urged media professionals and the military to share the responsibility of protecting national security because it supersedes all interests.
The call forms part of recommendations contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the two-day conference.
The theme of the conference was: “Enhancing Media-Military relationship for effective fight against terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria.’’
The Tide reports that it was organised by the Nigerian Army in collaboration with the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Others are the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and Guild of Professional Bloggers of Nigeria (GPBN).
It also recommended that the military should appreciate and support journalists to fulfill their constitutional mandates of informing the citizenry as well as respect journalists’ professionalism.
The communiqué added that the military must respect the right of journalists to protect the confidentiality of their sources of information.
“Media professionals need to improve public understanding that the Nigerian State is at war and that both the Nigerian military and media are focused on playing their crucial roles to win the war against terrorism.
“The war against terrorism, insurgency and violent crimes should always be appropriately framed as a war between Nigeria and the criminals which affects every fabric of our society and not a detached war between the Nigerian Army and Boko Haram terrorists group.’’
The communiqué also recommended strategic handling of reports of activities of terrorists and insurgents to decrease fear in the populace and weaken the recruitment and financing base of the criminals.
It said in order to close any perceived information gap and mitigate the spread of fake news, stakeholders should crosscheck, fact-check and evaluate information received before publishing to avoid disinformation and misinformation.
The document, therefore, called on the Nigerian army to provide timely, accurate information and accessible locations.