About 41 journalists have come under attack in Nigeria in the course of their duties between January and August.
Programme Officer for the International Press Centre (IPC), Mrs. Melody Lawal, revealed this during a webinar organised by the Centre in collaboration with the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) on Monday.
The theme of the webinar organised for journalists was “Edo/Ondo Elections: The imperative of Safety Consciousness and Conflict Sensitivity in Media Coverage and Reportage”.
Addressing safety issues as it relates to journalists during elections, Lawal, noted that of the attacks carried out by various actors, came in diverse forms such as harassment, threats to life, physical and verbal assault as well as damage to work equipment, among others.
She said that of the 41 attacks, 35 were on males, five were on females while one was on a media house.
The programme officer explained that journalists needed to take cognisance of the fact that the do-or-die attitude of politicians towards elections has not changed.
She harped on the imperative of journalists staying safe while reporting elections.
“So journalists must report effectively while staying safe in the dangerous electoral terrain we still operate.
“In this regard, it is important for journalists to situate their role and interest in the context of the interest of the two major stakeholders which are the politicians and the people.
READ ALSO: ACSPN Holds 7th Annual General Meeting, Elects New Officers
“The candidates and their supporters in these elections will not care whose ox is gored for them to actualise their ambition.
“Journalists need to keep abreast of this fact so as not to be victims of any cross fire,” she said.
She stressed that Journalists needed to be alive to report elections.
On precautions that could help journalists escape attack while convering the elections, Mrs. Lawal advised that they move in groups or clusters as it was earlier to attack one person than a group or cluster.
She also advised that journalists must at all time while covering the elections have their means of identification with them, be the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) accreditation tag or workplace identity card.
