NAPTIP, EU, IIDEA Mobilise Media Against SGBV, Launch Dedicated Corps

…New initiative targets silence, impunity as journalists receive specialised training to expose sexual and gender-based violence

By: Michael Mike

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in partnership with the European Union in conjunction with

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance(International IDEA), has launched a dedicated media corps to strengthen the capacity of journalists to investigate, report and sustain public attention on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Nigeria.

The initiative, unveiled in Abuja under the EU-supported End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Programme, is designed to move media coverage of SGBV beyond episodic reporting and towards sustained investigative journalism capable of exposing perpetrators, institutional failures and the social conditions that allow violence against women, girls and other vulnerable persons to persist.

The partnership reflects growing recognition among stakeholders that the fight against sexual and gender-based violence cannot be won through law enforcement and judicial action alone, but requires a powerful and informed media capable of breaking the culture of silence surrounding abuse.

The dedicated Media Corps is expected to provide journalists with specialised knowledge and tools to report SGBV cases more accurately, ethically and sensitively, while ensuring that victims and survivors are not subjected to further harm through irresponsible reporting.

At the launch, stakeholders stressed the strategic role of the media in shaping public attitudes, holding institutions accountable and ensuring that cases of sexual violence do not disappear from public consciousness after the initial news cycle.

The intervention also seeks to strengthen collaboration between journalists, government agencies, civil society organisations and other actors involved in the prevention and response to SGBV.

For NAPTIP, the partnership comes at a critical time as Nigeria continues to confront the complex and often interconnected challenges of trafficking, sexual exploitation, violence against women and girls, and other forms of abuse.

Beyond reporting individual cases, the new media corps is expected to deepen public understanding of the structural dimensions of SGBV and draw attention to gaps in prevention, protection, prosecution and survivor support.

The EU, through its support for the programme, has continued to position strategic communication and public awareness as important components of efforts to combat gender-based violence and strengthen institutional responses.

Participants at the Abuja engagement emphasised that journalists must be equipped not only with reporting skills but also with an understanding of the legal, psychological and social dimensions of SGBV.

This, they noted, would enable the media to report cases without sensationalism, protect the identities and dignity of survivors where necessary, challenge harmful stereotypes and ensure that coverage does not inadvertently reinforce the very culture that enables abuse.

The initiative is therefore being viewed as more than another capacity-building programme. It represents an attempt to create a specialised community of journalists who can make SGBV a sustained national accountability issue.

Stakeholders maintained that effective journalism can help expose patterns of abuse, amplify the voices of survivors, interrogate institutional responses and place pressure on relevant authorities to act.

They also called for stronger cooperation between the media and agencies responsible for tackling sexual violence, arguing that journalists should have access to credible information while respecting due process, privacy and the rights of survivors.

The launch comes against the backdrop of persistent concerns over under-reporting of sexual and gender-based violence, fear of stigmatisation, victim-blaming, weak access to justice and the reluctance of many survivors to speak publicly about their experiences.

These challenges, stakeholders observed, make responsible journalism particularly important in ensuring that victims are heard without being re-victimised.

With the establishment of the Media Corps, NAPTIP and the EU are seeking to build a more informed and specialised media response that can help transform public discourse around SGBV from one driven largely by isolated incidents into a sustained national conversation on prevention, accountability and justice.

The ultimate test of the initiative, however, will lie not merely in the number of journalists trained, but in whether the intervention produces deeper investigations, stronger accountability journalism and greater public pressure for institutions to protect victims and prosecute perpetrators.

For a country confronting persistent cases of sexual and gender-based violence, stakeholders said, silence remains one of the most powerful allies of perpetrators.

The new media corps is intended to make sure that silence no longer has the final word.

NAPTIP, EU, IIDEA Mobilise Media Against SGBV, Launch Dedicated Corps

Troops, Police Recover Suspected IED, Reopen Road in Zamfara

By Zagazola Makama

Troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA and the Nigerian Police Force have safely recovered a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) planted along a road in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

The operation was conducted at about 1:55 p.m. on Aug. 7 by troops of CSI Battalion VI/CT 2, Joint Task Force North West Operation FANSAN YAMMA, deployed at Forward Operating Base Kaura Namoda, in conjunction with a Nigeria Police Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team and troops of the 1 Brigade Quick Reaction Force.

The team mobilised to Jabanda village, following a report of a suspected IED planted along the road.

According to military sources, the team located and successfully cleared the suspected explosive device.

Following the successful operation, the road was declared safe and reopened to motorists, restoring normal vehicular movement along the route.

The security forces subsequently continued their operations to ensure the safety of commuters and residents in the area.

Troops, Police Recover Suspected IED, Reopen Road in Zamfara

Law School Student Dies in Suspected Suicide at Lagos Hostel

By Zagazola Makama

A 23-year-old student of the Nigerian Law School has died in a suspected suicide incident at the school’s hostel in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, when the deceased, identified as Alayande Faith Ajoke, was found dead within the hostel premises.

According to sources, the Chief Matron of the Law School, Mrs. Igbokwe Juliana, reported the incident at the Victoria Island Police Division at about 6:30 a.m.

The report stated that at about 4:30 a.m., a student who had just completed her internship, Ojo Abisoye Tinuola, informed the matron about a suspected suicide involving her roommate, Alayande.

The matron subsequently proceeded to the scene, where the deceased was found lying on the ground within the hostel premises.

Preliminary observations indicated that the deceased may have jumped from the rooftop of the four-storey hostel building.

Police sources said preliminary investigation further revealed that the deceased allegedly left behind two notes addressed to her stepfather and roommate.

Following the report, a team of police detectives visited the scene, documented the area and took photographs of the scene and the body.

The remains were subsequently evacuated to the Mainland General Hospital Mortuary, Yaba, for preservation and autopsy.

The police said investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death is ongoing.

Law School Student Dies in Suspected Suicide at Lagos Hostel