Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has called on Nigerian media organisations to stop giving excessive publicity to terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements, warning that such coverage helps them achieve their goal of spreading fear.
Speaking at a security summit organised by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in partnership with the Department of State Services (DSS), Idris urged journalists to exercise caution in how they report security-related issues.
“Please take these terrorists and criminals off your front pages. This is what they crave for free of charge,” he said.
The minister lamented what he described as the frequent prominence given to criminal activities in news reports, while the efforts and sacrifices of security personnel receive less attention.
“It saddens my mind. I feel very unhappy when I see our front pages, when I see our headlines, reporting the activities of these criminals and underplaying the ones by the security agencies,” he stated.
Idris stressed that his appeal was not a call for censorship but for responsible journalism that considers national unity and security. According to him, experienced journalists understand “what not to report in the interest of nation-building.”
“Nobody is calling for censorship. Nobody is asking the media not to do its job, but we must know that we must have a country to keep,” he added.
The minister noted that Nigeria continues to face security threats ranging from terrorism and violent extremism to cybercrime, misinformation and organised crime, making cooperation between the media and security agencies increasingly important.
