Media organisations in Nigeria have been asked to cooperate with the Armed Forces in information sharing and reportage to ensure that the reports conform to needs for accuracy, security and promote propriety.
At a meeting with journalists in Lagos on Friday, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, urged media organisations to confirm from the forces the authenticity of their report before disseminating same to the public.
Major General Olukolade told the reporters that “although it takes time to establish this, it’will help ensure that there was quality in any form of information that gets to you and to the public”.
“It is not meant to delay you but the outcome of this forum has also helped us to establish better means of ensuring that we facilitate the passage and usage of information.
“Before we give you any information, we want to ensure, at least, from our own end, that this information conforms to the needs for accuracy, for security, for propriety and the policies.
“Be more forthcoming in giving us the room to explain ourselves and believe us because we really have no reason to deceive Nigerians,” he said.
The army spokesman, who is also the chairman of the forum of Spokespersons of Response and Security Agencies, also insisted that Nigerian security agencies were capable of curbing the activities of insurgents in the north east.
“We still insist that there is no basis for comparison. The Nigerian forces remain capable and competent to use the equipment at their disposal to achieve the results that the nation wants,” he said.
The meeting was attended by spokespersons of all security and response agencies in Nigeria from the Army, Airforce, Navy, Police to the Federal Road Safety Corps.
