The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali has called for stronger collaborations between the security forces and the Nigerian media in the war against insurgency.
The minister, who made the call at a national conference on Civil-Military relations and the Media in Kaduna state, believes that, the ongoing fight against insurgency armed banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling, cannot succeed if the media continues to downplay the effort of the military in combating the insurgency.
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In his remarks, the Minister of Defence, expressed concerns that beyond the insurgency in the North East, security threats from kidnappers, cattle rustlers, and armed bandits are potential threats to the collective peace of the country, hence, he urged that every hand must be on deck to secure the country.
“Beyond the insurgency in the north east, kidnapping cattle rustling, farmers-herders clash and associated banditry has now threatened the peaceful existence of our country. This situation calls for effective collaboration with the media and increased inter-security agency collaboration particularly in areas of intelligence information sharing and other logistics in order to turn the tide against the criminal elements.”
“It is imperative for the media to be guarded by professional ethics, corporate social responsibility and related principles of responsible and developmental journalism. The media has a duty to exercise restraint about the content of reports on front-line situation in order to avoid feeding the public with graphic facts and sensitive info that may strengthen the enemy’s camp to the detriment of the legitimate authorities.
Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, who was also present at the event, highlighted that the Armed Forces enjoys vibrant civil-military relations at the strategic level, but the situation is not the same at the operational levels.
He hoped that a strong partnership between the media and the military could be a potent weapon in defeating insurgency in the country.
“The military has intensified efforts to build bridges of understanding between itself and civil populace. This effort has led to the establishment of Civil-Military Affairs Directorate and Department in Defence Headquarters.
“While the structures will continue to serve as a pivot for formal interaction between military and the civil populace, the Armed Forces of Nigeria is open to other acceptable medium of engagement with the citizens in line with global best practice.”
“I wish to urge media practitioners to regard the military as partners in the defence of our citizens and then territorial integrity of our dear nation,” he urged.
