NAN – Mr Mohammed Garba, the President, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Monday said the society must ensure press freedom and protection for journalists in its pursuit of social justice for the citizens.
Garba made the appeal in Abuja during the commemoration of the International Day to end impunity against Journalists, organised by UNESCO in collaboration with UNDP, DPD project and NUJ.
Garba, who is also the President of the Federation of African Journalist (FAJ), called on every stakeholder to support the war against impunity on journalists all over the world.
“NUJ and FAJ are committed to issues that concern the press and we reiterate our commitment to press freedom, the pursuit of justice and protection for journalists in dangerous and distress situations within and outside Africa.
“We also call on all stakeholders to join the war against impunity on journalists worldwide,” he said.
He said that NUJ and FAJ were committed to fully playing their roles in defending journalists by waging a resolute campaign at African and global levels to end impunity on journalists.
According to him, the killing of journalists can be attributed to Africa’s poor democratisation profiles, lack of rule of law and transparency, corruption, politics of exclusion by successive administrations that often result in frustration.
“They also arise from violent rivalries and the indiscretion that journalists find themselves more as liabilities than assets,” he said.
He said that election periods in Africa and violent demonstrations also constituted very dangerous assignments and moments for more safety consciousness and concerns for upholding ethical journalism.
He urged journalists, media organisations, and employers to develop new strategies to overcome security chalenges by extremist groups.
In his remark, Mr Sani Adamu, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Multimedia of the News agency of Nigeria (NAN),
urged all journalists to avoid invading the privacy of any person or individual.
He also appealed to journalists to avoid being partisan, adding their reportage should be more on human rights issues as they affect the society rather than concentrating more on politics.
