REPORTER: NDU CHRIS NWANNAH
A Two Day Media Training on Human Rights Centred Reporting organized by the Amnesty International Nigeria has ended with a call on journalists to use their profession to promote accountability and justice in the society.
The event which attracted journalists from the South East geopolitical zone and Delta State took place in Enugu, the capital of Enugu State.
The media practitioners were also tasked to be accurate in their reportage by verifying information from multiple sources to guard against misinformation.
Addressing the participants, a seasoned journalist and Vice Chairman of Blueprint Newspapers, Hajia Zainab Suleiman Okino said it was important for media practitioners to ensure that leaders were accountable to their actions in the polity.
Hajia Zainab Okino, stressed that journalists were also expected to beam their searchlight on human rights abuses through appropriate information sharing.
In a paper presentation, a Lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Doctor Kabiru Danladi, emphasized the importance of good journalism to the society.
Doctor Danladi charged journalists to utilize the NUJ Media Code to enable them avoid legal pitfalls in their profession.
He urged media practitioners to be ethical, objective and investigative to address bias, promote impartially and deliver undiluted truth to the members of the public.
A Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Doctor Anne Agi, advised journalists to avoid bias in reporting gender issues but always frame their stories and headlines ethically.
Doctor Agi noted the need for media professionals to employ gender sensitive languages, while constructing their story lines, especially in rape cases.
Professor Chijioke Agbo of the Faculty of Law, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, emphasized the need for journalists to approach their works without fear, knowing fully well that Freedom of the Press operates in the country.
Professor Agbo, however insisted that media practitioners, while utilizing the freedom of the press in their works, must be ethical, truthful and accurate in their reportage.
He noted that the modern day journalist must be grounded in legal literacy with capacity building and retraining to survive legal risks in the profession.
A Security Expert, Mr John Omilabu, charged journalists to appropriate their safety during challenging assignments, especially protests and areas where terrorists and bandits operate.
In a remark, the Media and Communication Officer, Amnesty International Nigeria, Mr Christian Michael, expressed happiness over the success of the programme, while tasking journalists to use knowledge garnered to strengthen human rights reporting.
The Amnesty International Nigeria Media Training ended with question and answer sessions as well as group discussions.
