National News
ActionAid, Stakeholders Recommends Ways to Improve Journalism

ActionAid, Stakeholders Recommends Ways to Improve Journalism
By: Michael Mike, Abuja
ActionAid Nigeria and some stakeholders in the media industry have recommended ways to improve journalism and media practice in Nigeria.
A communique issued at the end of the National Media Virtual Roundtable on Actioning Safety and Protection of Women Journalists in Nigeria: Reflections and Recommendations organised by ActionAid Nigeria, on Tuesday, in commemoration of 2021 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, recommended among others that the police, other law enforcement agents and security agencies should be properly sensitised to understand how to accord and treat female journalists with respect and dignity.
The Roundtable which have speakers that include Ladi Bala, President, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ); Oba Adeoye, Anchor and Producer with Arise News TV; Theophilus Abbah, Programme Director, Daily Trust Foundation; Omolola Oladimeji, Team Lead, Women in Media Development Initiative (WIMDI), and the Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Ene Obi, also recommended that in mainstreaming of gender policy in the newsroom, media organisations should develop and be willing to implement robust gender inclusive policy to guide against sexual harassment and intimidation of journalists especially female journalists, insisting that the gender policy must ensure a measure of gender balance in the leadership structure of the organisations.
Also Read: EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLING: COUNSEL ACCUSES NIGERIA POLICE OF…
Other recommendations include that there should be a formulation of legal and ethical frameworks that are designed to checkmate gender biases and discrimination against journalists, with organisations such as NUJ, NAWOJ, NGE and other allied pro-media organisations should lead this campaign with support from professional and development networks including FIDA to develop draft legislation; media owners should constantly engage journalists on hostile environment training so as to adequately prepare and minimise the exposure of journalists to risks while reporting in conflict or high hazard environments; NAWOJ and WIMDI, among others, should engage in more sensitisations and awareness campaign to encourage women journalists who come under attack to speak out; the institutions must also provide a shield for journalists who have been/or are being harassed by security operatives or in their media organisations.
Media organisations need to institute workplace policies covering the welfare of journalists, this is to include health insurance as well as active sexual harassment and abuse policies to protect journalists against sexual abuse and intimidation within the media the organisation; media organisations should be willing to support and pursue to logical conclusions cases involving journalists who are involved in any form of intimidation and harassment while carrying out their duties; and media organisations should first ensure the economic protection of the journalists working with them, and that the journalists should be properly engaged as staff, this will bolster the confidence of the journalist and make them report incidences of harassment in or outside the media organisation without fear of intimidation or reprisal attack.
The stakeholders said they have observed that harassment and impunity against journalists especially sexual harassment of female journalists will not end until perpetrators are investigated and punished; networking and solidarity building are required amongst journalists for strategic advocacy and to counter threats of violence and crimes against journalists, particularly women, towards protecting freedom of expression for all; police or security operatives’ invitation of journalists on the basis of news reports is a form of harassment, insisting there are ways to address concerns regarding published stories rather than have security agencies arrest journalists, they should write to the media organisations and provide their own side of the story; the lack of a protective policy or legal framework deters harassed or abused journalists from reporting for fear of safety.
Other observations, according to them, are that the impunity, brutality, physical and verbal assaults against journalists have continued because perpetrators rarely openly get punished; the lack of supporting structure and framework by senior female journalists in mentoring and supporting younger female journalists in the profession is a drawback in protecting and enhancing the confidence of the younger journalists to face the harsh working environment of the profession; the female journalists who suffer sexual harassment in the newsroom usually lack sufficient evidence to make their case; some also keep quiet about such abuses for fear of losing their jobs especially if the harassment is from a senior member of the organisation; there still exist within some media organisations issues of lack of inclusion of female journalists in covering certain assignments considered to be for male colleagues; female journalists are still viewed from the lenses of gender while assigning beats to cover and issues of cyber bullying of journalists on the basis of their report is also seen to be increasing in Nigeria.
ActionAid, Stakeholders Recommends Ways to Improve Journalism
National News
Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony
By: Michael Mike
Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has called on Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress.
The advice was given by the Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, in his message on Eid-el-Kabir.
The Institute, while extending warm greetings to Nigerians, wished them a joyous and peaceful celebration, marked by love, compassion, and unity.
The Institute while noting that Sallah is a significant occasion in the Islamic calendar, symbolizing the values of sacrifice, gratitude, and community, emphasized that the spirit of Sallah should guide Nigerians in their interactions with one another, fostering a culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding.
The IPCR urged Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress, while
encouraging individuals to embrace the values of Sallah, including forgiveness, empathy, and kindness, in their daily lives.
According to IPCR, peace is critical to promoting national stability and cohesion.
The Institute also urged Nigerians to use this period of Sallah celebration to address conflicts and promote dialogue, which could help to build trust and understanding among Nigerians and also contribute to a more peaceful society.
It recognized that the country’s many ethnic and religious groups can work together to build a more harmonious society, celebrating their differences and promoting a culture of tolerance.
End
National News
Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing
By: Michael Mike
A community leader and the Waziri Mushere of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Chief Yohana Margif has expressed dismay over the incessant killing of innocent citizens of the community.
Margif made this known in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene to halt what he described as genocide against the people, which he said was being perpetrated by suspected herdsmen.
Margif also called on Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, and other security chiefs in the country, to rein in the alleged culprits.
He said: “I would like to draw the attention of the topmost leadership in Nigeria to the deteriorating dire security situation in Plateau, particularly in Mushere Chiefdom of Bokkos LGA.
“I urge President Tinubu to take immediate decisive action to halt these endless and senseless killings, protect lives and properties, and secure the future of the Mushere people, and other victims of obvious genocide against the people.
“Herdsmen are killing our innocent people, burning their homes, looting their foodstuff, property, livestock, and taking over their ancestral lands,” he said.
According to the Abuja-based real estate mogul, the attacks and attendant killings have intensified recently since the onset of this year’s farming season.
Margif further said that the people had been displaced from their villages and ancestral homes and were forced to become internally displaced persons in the country.
He emphasised that the situation required immediate intervention by all stakeholders in order to prevent further escalation and inflict an irredeemable harm by wiping out the entire community from the surface of the earth.
He lamented that: “Since President Tinubu’s administration began, Plateau State has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of violence and loss of lives.
“This is the current sad reality. Our people are constantly under the threat of the enemy’s bullets and can’t sleep with two eyes closed due to the perpetual unleashing of violence against them by external forces.
“Something urgent must be done to stem the tide of violence and end this war against the people in order not to
harm this administration’s reputation,” Margif said.
In the past couple of days, suspected herdsmen militia killed no fewer than 35 people in the localities of Hokk, Pangkap, Fokoldep, Kopmur, Margif, Horop, Mbor, Mushere and Kwahas localities in Mushere Chiefdom.
Chairman, Bokkos Community Peace Observers, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the killings to newsmen, said the victims included a 70-year-old Pastor of COCIN LCC Kwakas-Mushere, Mimang Lekyil, who was attacked and killed in the church.
He said that the pastor’s wife was also shot in the leg and was admitted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital for treatment, he said.
“Bokkos has never been this insecure, with the people being butchered as we are currently witnessing,” Lilian Madaki, from the Mushere community told journalists.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Emmanuel Adesina, also confirmed the incident in a statement saying security forces including police and military personnel, had been deployed in the affected communities.
Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing
National News
VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu
** Says Nigeria has lost an intellectual giant
By: Our Reporter
Vice President Kashim Shettima today led other Muslim faithful for the Jana’iza (funeral prayers) of the late elder statesman, renowned medical scholar and former Minister of Education and Petroleum, Prof. Jibril Aminu, at the National Mosque in Abuja.

Prof. Aminu, a one-time President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (OPEC), passed on in Abuja on Thursday after a prolonged illness.
The Vice President, who arrived at the National Mosque at 1:52 pm, commiserated with the family of the deceased and prayed Allah to comfort them and make Aljanna Firdaus the final abode of the late elder statesman.

Noting that the late Prof Aminu’s demise is a great loss to the nation, VP Shettima described the late surgeon, educationist and administrator as a man who saw it all, just as he said the deceased was an intellectual giant who can hardly be replaced.
“It is a very sad loss. Prof Jubril Aminu was the last of the great titans, an iconic figure who enormously contributed to the development of the nation.
“He was variously the Executive Secretary of NUC, Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and Honourable Minister of various ministries across the country and left his landmarks on the sands of time.
“He is irreplaceable. May Allah grant him Aljanatul Firdaus and give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. His loss is not just to the good people of Adamawa State but to the nation and Africa at large,” the Vice President prayed.

Born in Song, Adamawa in 1939, Prof. Aminu was a towering figure in Nigerian public life.
The late Consultant Cardiologist served the nation in different capacities, including as Federal Minister of Education and later Federal Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1989–1992), Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States (1999–2003), and Senator representing Adamawa Central (2003–2011).
He was also President of OPEC in 1991 and President of the OPEC Conference between 1991 and 1992 while he was Petroleum Minister.
Other mourners who joined the Vice President at the National Mosque in Abuja for the Jana’iza included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo; former Secretary to the Federal Government, Yayale Ahmed; former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako; former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje; former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai (rtd); former Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman; former Minister of State for Health, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, among many others.
VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu
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