Buhari charges media to tone down reporting of Nigeria’s insecurity

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday cautioned Nigerian journalists on the reporting of the nation’s security challenges.

The President, according to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made the call in his Eid-ul-Maulud message to Nigerians.

The Federal Government had declared Tuesday as a public holiday to mark the Eid-ul-Maulud in the country.

The Eid-ul-Maulud is celebrated by Muslims across the world to mark the birthday of Holy Prophet Muhammed.

The President charged journalists to stop reporting that insecurity in the country was “rising” but “declining.”

He declared that security agencies are effectively tackling the security challenges in different parts of the country.

READ ALSO: SERAP commences lawsuit against Buhari over plans to monitor WhatsApp

The statement read: “The President uses the occasion to give a snapshot of the increased activities the Armed Forces, Police Force, and intelligence agencies have embarked upon to effectively respond to the security challenges in the nation.

“He says the government fully expects and intends for these trends to continue, and calls on the media to address the tone, content, and standards of reporting into security and safety measures. Time has come to revise the prefixes ‘rising insecurity’ with ‘declining insecurity’.

“The President adds that increased cooperation and collaboration from the citizenry, coupled with reinvigorated, dynamic, and energised police, security and military leadership is helping the administration score more victories against terror, criminality, and economic sabotage. The reality of declining insecurity should replace the inaccurate narrative of rising insecurity in the country.

“While there is work to do, the men and women in uniform who are helping the nation to achieve this goal, desire our collective appreciation and encouragement to do even more. The whole country and its mass communications systems have a duty in this regard.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now