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Communique: one-day capacity building workshop and engagement on solution driven rural poverty reporting

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Communiqué of one-day capacity building workshop and engagement on solution driven rural poverty reporting organized by the International Press Centre (IPC) and WACC for select journalists from print media organizations in Lagos on Tuesday September 8, 2015. INTRODUCTION Based on the need to improve on the agenda setting role of the media in the quest to reduce poverty through informed reports and commentaries, the International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos organized a one-day capacity building workshop and engagement on solution driven rural poverty reporting for journalists in Lagos. The workshop was organized under a project titled: “Mentoring and CSO/media engagement for solution-driven rural poverty reporting” being implemented with the support of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC). The workshop focused on equipping the select journalists with specific skills to conduct investigations and carry out in-depth reporting of diverse poverty issues and challenges faced by people living in select rural communities in Lagos. This is in continuation of the WACC/IPC 2013-2014 media intervention programme on rural poverty reporting. The workshop had 10 participants from 6 national newspapers and was facilitated by Dr. Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika; Associate Professor and Head of Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos and Mr. Lanre Arogundade, Director, IPC. The workshop had two interactive and practical sessions which provided professional guide to participants on the essence of development journalism and poverty reporting. HIGHLIGHTS The workshop started with a mind gauging session during which participants shared views on anticipated outcomes of the workshop. This was followed by an explanation of the background and the reasons for the focus on reporting the poverty conditions of communities in Lagos. The presentation by the resources person were: “Reporting poverty and development; the media as agenda setters and agents to engender grass root development” by -Dr Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika; and “reporting rural poverty issues: Skills & methodologies for conducting investigations and in-depth reports on rural poverty conditions” by Mr. Lanre Arogundade. The session also had a practical session on “Following the Poverty Issue: Using 5Ws and 1H as guide” as well as “Stakeholders’ analysis of poverty issues” by Mr. Arogunade. The workshop also addressed related issues on identifying poverty conditions of communities in Lagos: the causes and the effects, the limitations to the rreporting of poverty conditions of the communities and steps towards overcoming the limitations. OBSERVATIONS Participants noted and agreed that: • Poverty goes beyond mere measurement of a household’s expenditure or welfare but has many dimensions and may include inadequate access to government utilities and services, environmental issues, poor infrastructure, illiteracy and ignorance, poor health, insecurity, social and political exclusion. • News reporting should routinely give special attention to and examine the issue of poverty and development. • Media can engender grassroots development by reporting poverty and development as agenda setting function. • The media through news stories and angle/frequency of reportage; can inform about glaring and growing poverty and facilitate solutions. • The media can proactively make government more responsive to the development needs and challenges of the rural poor. • Journalists as agents of development can apply solutions journalism in addressing the various dimensions of poverty while writing stories on rural poverty with the aim of drawing attention to alleviating it. • Journalists investigating stories on poverty situations should employ fact finding and analytic skills like: – Issue analysis of the poverty conditions – Stakeholder analysis of factors and influencers to changing the situation. – Using diverse sources. – Telling compelling stories especially by using oral testimonies. RESOLUTION: Following the presentations and discussions, the participants resolved to: · Follow up on the issues by attending an interactive meeting with representatives of select rural communities in Lagos in order to obtain first hand information on the poverty concerns of the communities. · Undertake field visits to select communities to do investigative/development reporting of their issues. · Write solution-driven report on major development poverty issues of rural communities of Lagos. · Interact with Local CSO and/or Local/State-level institutional stakeholders and writing a solution driven report on the rural poverty/development issues/needs of the community. · Be an agent of change in allevaiting poverty conditions of communities in Lagos State. CLOSING At the end of the workshop, participants expressed gratitude to the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) for supporting IPC to organize the workshop and other related components of the project. SGD: ‘Lanre Arogundade Director, IPC t: +234.802.3186.845 e: larogundade@ipcng.org, larogundade@gmail.com

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Documenting how print, online outlets reported 2015 polls

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AS part of efforts to ensure that electoral process in Nigeria conform with international standards, the activities of a total of 29 media outlets, for six months (from November 2014 to April 2015), were put on the spotlight with the aim of evaluating their coverage of 2015 General Elections. The exercise, as a key highlight of the broad project tagged, Media Capacity Building, Mentoring and Monitoring for Conflict-Sensitive, Public-Issue and ICT-Driven Reporting of 2015, is a collaborative undertaking of Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) II (supported with funds contributed by the European Union (EU), UKAid, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) and UNDP); Nigerian Press Council (NPC); as well as International Press Council (IPC). The period of the monitoring was carefully designed in order to undertake assessment of the performance of the concerned media outlets prior to, during, and immediately after the elections with emphasis on: use of sources, conflict sensitivity, language use, coverage of issues and coverage of the election management body. The outcome of the monitoring exercise has now been documented entitled Reportage of 2015 Elections: A Monitoring Scorecard of Print and Online Media. The public presentation of the publication held last Thursday in Abuja attracted the presence of distinguished personalities such as Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina; Project Director, UNDP-DGD, Dr. Mourtada Deme was represented by the Media Expert, UNDP-DGD, Toyin Gabriel; President, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr. Abdulwaheed Odusile; Executive Secretary, NPC, Mr. Nnamdi Njemanze; President, National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole; Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade; Mr. Edetaen Ojo of Media Right Agenda (MRA) among others. The presentation on Ethics in Election Reporting: Looking into the future by Prof. Nosa Owens-Ibie of Caleb University who is also Secretary-General, Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) added intellectual touch to the ceremony. In her brief remarks, the representative of DGD Project Director, Toyin Gabriel dwelled on the overall objectives of the initiative which included strengthening the democratic character of Nigerian political processes as well as promoting outcomes that consolidate and advance democratic governance and accountability to achieve Nigeria’s stated development priorities and goals. According to her, DGD II provides, specifically, technical and financial support to INEC, civil society organizations and institutions such as the media, National Assembly and political parties as a means of strengthening accountable and responsive governance institutions and consolidating democratic governance in line with international best practices. Media outlets monitored were categorized into national, regional, online and social media platforms. The breakdown reveals 12 national newspapers – Daily Sun, The Nation, National Mirror, Vanguard, The Punch, ThisDay, Daily Independent, The Guardian, Nigerian Tribune, Daily Champion, Leadership and Daily Trust; 10 regional newspapers – Nigerian Chronicle, Daily Star, Nigerian Observer, Nigerian Pilot, Abuja Inquirer, Peoples’ Daily, Blueprint, The Gleaner, Desert Herald, and Fresh Facts; four online news media – The Tide, The Cable, Sahara Reporters and Premium Times; and three social media platforms – Enough-is-Enough Nigeria, Reclaim Naija and INEC. The objectives of the exercise included monitoring the public interest, development and conflict sensitive content of election and political news reports, features and editorials in all the target outlets; gauging media professional performance in the reportage of parties and candidates as well as electoral stakeholders including INEC; analysing the trend, issues, context and quality of media reportages of election and electoral issues; identifying the strengths, gaps and challenges of media coverage of election and electoral issues; as well as engaging stakeholders on the improvement in the human and development content of political and electoral reporting. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were deployed to arrive at the outcome. Quantitative methodology involved identification of all the relevant reports in the selected media outlets and social media platforms; determination of the number and percentage of reports according to the topics and sub-topics of the monitoring, for which codes and sub-codes were also respectively allocated; calculation of space allocation to the topics and sub-topics; as well as identification of the relevant reports to determine the number and percentage according to the genre and format of reporting. The genre had to do with whether the relevant reports were published as news, features, investigations, interviews, opinions, columns/articles, photographs, cartoons, etc. The format, on the other hand, was about the placement of the reports, that is, whether they were reported on the front page, the inside page, the editorial page or back page, vis-à-vis space allocated for respective issues and topics. The space allocation according to genre and format was therefore documented. Qualitative method took care of the analysis of the content of all the relevant reports to determine the focus, the tone, the professionalism and the ethical standard of reporting as derived from the five monitoring topics namely sources, conflict sensitivity, language, issues and Electoral Management Body (EMB). Presenting a summary on the publication, Lanre Arogundade of IPC said general and specific findings were discovered at the end of the monitoring exercise. Under the general findings, Arogundade explained that “the monitored media outlets accorded varying degree of priority to public interest issues in the 2015 elections; while there was high interest in conflict related issues, the development content of the election reports were quite low. “The monitored media outlets exhibited different levels of professionalism in the reporting of political parties and candidates but media access was generally in favour of the biggest two political parties while the other political parties were often overlooked. “The monitored media outlets made noticeable efforts to comply with the legislative and the institutional frameworks on the media coverage of elections, but there were significant areas of non-compliance,” he said. On mention of the political parties, a key issue under specific findings, Arogundade said, “Though 26 political parties were listed on the website of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the mention of political parties in the monitored reports was highly skewed in favour of only two parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic

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Poll: What one thing would you like new NUJ National President to do NOW?

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Dear Sir/Ma, This poll has been independently initiated by iJOURNALIST in order to assist the new NUJ leadership of Waheed Odusile set a proper agenda by articulating the views of media professionals, the civil society and the general public. The outcome,will be shared with the leadership and widely disseminated. Kindly spare a few seconds to participate by clicking the link below. http://www.riddle.com/a/4589 Lanre Arogundade Director Tel: +234 (0) 8023186845 , +234 (0) 8067144874 Email: larogundade@ipcng.org, larogundade@gmail.com Twitter: @lanreipc l Skype: lanre.arogundade2 International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, Nigeria IPC is Nigeria’s foremost media capacity development organization.

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Nigeria: Freedom of the media under a watchful eye – Radio Deutsche Welle, July 7, 2015

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Nigeria: Freedom of the media under a watchful eye – Radio Deutsche Welle, July 7, 2015 Despite strict government censorship, artists and the media in Nigeria are finding way to enjoy small amounts of freedom. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had focused his election campaign on “change” – and promised an overhaul. The opposition candidate Buhari convinced his constituency at the voting polls on March 28. “Many artists and intellectuals responded with relief,” noted Marc-André Schmachtel, director of the Goethe-Institut in the country’s economic and cultural metropolis, Lagos. Lola Shoneyin, one of Nigeria’s most renowned writers (“The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives”), even went so far as to campaign openly for Buhari. That comes as a surprise since, during the 1980s when Muhammadu Buhari ruled as a military dictator, he had applied a very tough policy against dissidents. But the fact that Nigerians have, for the first time, voted against a government perceived as being corrupt and incompetent has been welcomed by many artists. Even Shoneyin’s father, Literature Nobel Prize-laureate Wole Soyinka, who for a long time had strongly criticized Buhari’s presidential ambitions, accepted him in the end – albeit as the lesser evil. After Buhari’s election victory, he called on Nigerians to forgive him for his dictatorial past. A history of censorship Buhari follows a civilian president, but one who also had a mixed record when it came to freedom in cultural affairs and the media. In February 2015, the organization Reporters Without Borders warned that President Goodluck Jonathan’s evasive manner, when it came to the media and the rights of the public in general, was deeply worrying. Reports were becoming more frequent that domestic and foreign media reporting on the struggle against terrorism in northeastern Nigeria were being hampered in their work. Author Wole Soyinka. Copyright: imago/Gallo Images Nobel Prize laureate Wole Soyinke considers President Buhari the lesser of two evils Previously, the Nigerian military had made clear that it no longer wished to be criticized by the media for its unsuccessful strategy against the terrorist Islamist group, Boko Haram. After it had been reported that several generals had allegedly been sentenced by martial courts for presumably collaborating with the terrorists, soldiers impeded the delivery of a number of major newspapers for several days. They claimed that it wasn’t legally possible for newspapers to publish such security-sensitive information. Biased media control These examples, among others, demonstrate that, even 16 years after the current democratic constitution came into force, freedom of expression must be constantly fought for and defended by Nigerians. Whereas in the past, and even under military regimes, the printed media of Africa’s most populous state never shied away from making their points of view heard, the still relatively young private television and radio stations have come under particular pressure. They are ultimately overseen by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC). “The problem is that the chairman is appointed solely by the president,” criticized Umar Saidu Tudunwada, a manager at the northern Nigerian commercial broadcaster, Radio Freedom. That’s why the NBC consistently promotes the position of the ruling party, he added. Since the government already directly controls the state media, it keeps an especially close eye on private media organizations, according to Tudunwada. Tudunwada is demanding that the NBC’s board be appointed by the parliament in the future, so that the president doesn’t make a single-handed decision. Caution with sensitive issues Furthermore, private newspapers and radio stations are often owned by members of the Nigerian elite, who are closely linked to one or another political party. Many reports are paid for directly by institutions, organizations or religious groups, or even produced by such groups themselves. In Nigeria, a deeply religious country, priests and imams assert direct pressure on the media. “If you are not careful, they mobilize the people to stir up trouble,” said Umar Saidu Tudunwada from Freedom Radio, whose headquarters are located in the strictly Islamic city of Kano. Particularly sensitive issues in the conservative provinces of northern Nigeria include religion, women’s rights and homosexuality, which is forbidden by law. Radio broadcasting continue to be the main source of information of Nigerians, and is hence very influential. That’s why Freedom Radio broadcast spots and discussions promoting peaceful conduct during the elections months ahead of time. “Together with other broadcasters, we’ve organized seminars for our journalists to enable them to report more sensitively on conflicts,” said Tudunwada. “That proved to be very successful, since hate speeches and provocation did not come up in our coverage.” Watching over ‘Nollywood’ Films produced in Nigeria enjoy particular popularity. Nigeria’s film industry, known as “Nollywood,” is now widely regarded as the world’s most prolific, behind the US and India. This popularity has caught the attention of the authorities, and the governing body officially refers to itself as a censorship board – the National Film and Video Censors Board. In general, the censors do their work unnoticed. But one of the few internationally acclaimed Nigerian films provoked an outcry in 2014. The NFVCB had banned the film “Half of a Yellow Sun” from being shown. The film, based on the novel by Chimamanda Adichie, is set during the Nigerian civil war and is about the separation the Republic of Biafra in the south east of the country, which is mainly inhabited by the Ibo people. After weeks of tug-of-war, intense public debates and agreements to cut a number of scenes, the censors finally agreed to let the film be screened. “That has triggered a broad debate on the role of censorship,” said Marc-André Schmachtel from the Goethe-Institut. “Many artists don’t want to give up their right to deal with history.” The influence of Boko Haram The Goethe-Institut itself has not seen direct restrictions concerning its work in Lagos. Nevertheless, there are issues that require special sensitivity, said Schmachtel: “When it comes to homosexuality, for example, we are very careful.” That’s why he prefers to screen a particular movie about the coming-out of young Kenyans in the German Consulate rather than in

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Journalist Seeks Justice Over Illegal Detention By General

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Leadership, Tuesday June 16, 2015 By Onukogu Kanayochuqu Jubal A journalist with the Abuja-based frequency modulation station, Aso FM, Jide Abdulazeez, has asked the chief of army staff to intervene in his situation and get him justice, after he was illegally arrested, intimidated, detained and had his mobile devices seized by the junior officers attached to an army general on June 1, 2015. Abdulazeez, who visited the corporate headquarters of LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group yesterday to disclose his ordeal in the hands of the army officers, narrated that the incident occurred at about 8:30am of the said day. “While I was driving along the Kubwa-Gwarinpa Expressway, there was traffic hold-up which made some motorists drive against oncoming vehicles on the lane. As a special marshal, I put on my special marshal jacket, got out of my vehicle and went to restore normalcy. “Suddenly, I saw a convoy of army vehicles on this same lane which I had managed to clear and took my iPad to take photos, just to have evidence if any accident occurred. Suddenly, the convoy stopped and a soldier hopped out. He took the iPad away forcefully, got back into the vehicle and drove off. “I followed them back to the office of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) in Garki II and when they asked, I told them that I was motivated by the president’s directive that no one should drive against traffic. “Captains Ogunbunmi and Sanni made me write a statement. Thereafter, I was blindfolded and taken to an unknown destination, where I spent the night. I answered every question which they asked and even informed them that I was a journalist, but they kept me. They deleted the pictures I took and even threatened that I would be sent to Maiduguri and labelled a Boko Haram informant”, he narrated. Abdulazeez disclosed that the next morning, he was driven to the office of the Department of State Services (DSS) and made to write another lengthy statement. He said he was detained for a few more hours, until 3:45pm when he was bailed by a civil servant. In the letter copied to the president’s chief of staff, the director-general of the DSS, the country representative of Amnesty International Nigeria, the executive secretary of the National Human Rights Commission and a number of other people, Abdulazeez demanded justice. “I was accused of being a member of the Boko Haram; that was not only absurd, it is also capable of damaging my image and reputation as an on-air personality which I have built for years. “Also, since my mobile devices – iPad and phones – were seized, I have been rendered incommunicado. This has affected my private and public lives,” he said.

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CPJ urges Nigerian president to prioritize press freedom

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  June 3, 2015 President Muhammadu Buhari State House, Abuja Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria C/O: Senior Special Assistant to the President Special Adviser to the President Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to congratulate you on your recent victory in Nigeria’s presidential election. As Nigeria prepares to enter a new chapter in its history, we urge you and your administration to take steps to ensure that journalists are able to work freely and openly in the country without fear of reprisal of any form. In your inaugural speech on May 29, you identified insecurity and pervasive corruption in Nigeria to be among your immediate concerns. You also recognized the country’s “vibrant” press and appealed to the media to exercise “its considerable powers with responsibility and patriotism.” It is our belief that a patriotic press is also a critical press. To achieve your objective in tackling the challenges Nigeria faces, it is vital that your government prioritize press freedom so that journalists may ask questions and expose corruption at all levels of society without fear of harassment or intimidation. Nigerians and the world must be left without any suspicion or uncertainty about the transparency of your government. As Nigeria aspires to strengthen its democracy, your government must show that it can tackle Nigeria’s challenges, including the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency and the use of terror tactics, but can do so without compromising democratic principles, whose core elements include press freedom and freedom of expression. The success of the democratic government you now lead will depend largely on the guarantee that journalists are free to inform the society about their commonwealth. We welcome your public assurances that you will not allow authorities to abuse the trust of the Nigerian people. We are encouraged by your promise to take disciplinary steps against security forces who commit human rights violations, but there is a long way to go. Security forces are the most frequent perpetrators of violations against the press, according to the Lagos-based International Press Centre, which found that Nigerian police and security forces were responsible for 24 of at least 32 cases of attacks on journalists between November 2014 and February this year. No one has been brought to justice, the IPC said. CPJ has also documented other physical attacks, threats, and intimidation of local and international journalists seeking to cover the news. In a weeklong siege in June 2014, soldiers and agents of the Nigerian State Security Service disrupted the operations of nearly a dozen independent newspapers under the guise of fighting terrorism, according to CPJ research. Federal troops across the country seized and destroyed newspaper deliveries, confiscated editions, and took over media vehicles. No public apology was forthcoming, nor any compensation given for the loss in newspaper sales incurred by news organizations, distributors, transporters, vendors, advertisers, and other stakeholders. CPJ has also documented a worrisome number of work-related murders of journalists in Nigeria. Since 1992, at least 10 Nigerian journalists have been killed in direct relation to their work, while another nine journalists have been killed under unclear circumstances, CPJ research shows. The country is second only to Somalia in terms of Africa’s worst record of unpunished murders of journalists. In 2014, Nigeria ranked 12th on CPJ’s Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free. President Goodluck Jonathan’s government showed no resolve in finding the killers of these journalists, but we ask that you make this a priority of your administration. Nigeria retains outdated laws on criminal defamation, publishing false information, and sedition, which authorities have used to persecute journalists for their reporting. In 2010, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights called on member states to repeal criminal defamation laws or insult laws, which impede freedom of speech, and to adhere to the provisions of freedom of expression articulated in the African Charter and other regional and international instruments. In a landmark ruling in December 2014, the African Court on Human and People’s Rights found that prison sentences for criminal defamation were disproportionate and should be used only in restricted circumstances. Still, despite growing international consensus that journalists should never face criminal charges for their professional work, Nigerian authorities continue to persecute the media. In December, two journalists with the Abuja-based National Waves magazine were arrested and charged two months later with criminal defamation, according to news reports. They had published a report in the magazine that alleged fraudulent dealings between an oil magnate and the Bauchi State government, news reports said. CPJ, an independent nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide, believes that the use of criminal laws against journalists for reporting news or opinion is wrong and has a deeply chilling effect on the press as a whole. Journalists are critics–not criminals. On March 17, before the elections, you told the Nigerian Press Organisation in Abuja that if you won the presidency, “the Nigerian media will be free under our [All Progressives Congress] government.” You also told the journalists, “The health of Nigeria’s democracy rests partly on you. Without a robust and thriving media, the masses would have no voice.” We, too, believe that a society cannot thrive without a free and open press. This is why we are dismayed that on May 29, the day commemorating Nigeria’s democracy and coinciding with your inauguration and that of Nigerian state governors, Joseph Hir, a journalist with the independent Daily Trust, was viciously attacked, allegedly by supporters of the Nassarawa State governor, a member of your political party, who stood a short distance away taking his oath of office, according to news reports. Hir told CPJ the attack followed repeated threats he had received over a recent story he wrote that questioned the political relevance of Nassarawa State in the national affairs of your political party, the All Progressives Congress. Mr. President, we are aware of the significant challenges your administration faces, which are problems not of your making but which you are now required to

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Communique of a One-Day Experts’ Meeting on Safety of Journalists

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1. INTRODUCTION The one day experts’ meeting organized by the International Press Center (IPC) Lagos with the support of UNESCO Regional Office in Nigeria was a landmark development in the quest to document, raise consciousness and propose solutions to attacks on journalists while addressing other safety issues affecting effective journalism practice. The meeting had in attendance about thirty-five experts drawn from prominent media institutions, bodies and associations as well as the law enforcement agencies. Also present were female and male editors in print and broadcast media outlets including those reporting in the conflict affected areas of the North East. Among those present were Julie Osagie-Jacobs, National Programme Officer/Communication & Information, UNESCO, Mr. Bayo Atoyebi, former Executive Secretary, Nigerian Press Council (NCP); CSP. Abayomi Shogunle, who represented the Force PRO; Louis Achi of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, (NGE) and James Uwem, representing the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). The discussions were preceded by the presentation of the Overview of the report of Baseline Audit on Safety and Security of Journalists in Nigeria by the Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade. Also presented were three other papers were also presented including Media Handling of Gender Issues in Contemporary Nigerian Conflicts by Dr. Ifeoma Dunu, Department of Mass Communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; Professionalism and ethics in reporting conflicts: perspectives on dealing with the new challenges by Dr Sola Ishola of the Department of Peace & Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan and Religious conflicts and media responsibility and the emergent challenge of Boko Haram by Dr Abubakar Mu’azu of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri. The presentations were followed by plenary sessions during which the experts exchanged ideas on contentious issues in conflicts and the safety of journalists. 2. OBSERVATIONS The participants observed that: • The safety of journalists seems to be on the downward trend as forty seven journalists were attacked between November 2014 April 2105, according to the baseline audit on safety of journalists which relied on information sourced from nine print media outlets; • Attacks on journalists are mostly perpetrated by security agents, armed militia men, political party loyalists/thugs and unknown gun men; • There has been no diligent prosecution of those responsible for various attacks on journalists; • Journalists working in conflict prone areas especially the north east of the country have been exposed to physical sufferings and psychological trauma; • Media outlets in the North East are sometimes vulnerable to attacks by terrorists; • Media reporting of the Boko Haram crisis sometimes do not show sufficient understanding of the north eastern landscape and the enormity of the task of combating the terrorists; For example, Borno state has a bigger land mass than combined five states in the south while the Sambisa forest stretches from Nigeria to the East African region; • There is the tendency for security agents operating in conflict areas to be hostile to journalists reporting such conflicts; • There is absence of regular dialogue between media stakeholders and security agencies on the challenges of violent conflicts in the country; • The gender dimensions of conflicts in the country are often under-reported; • The reporting of conflicts poses many professional and ethical challenges and dilemma, which should be properly addressed; • The media is not doing enough to report the factors that predispose parts of the country to conflicts. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS The meeting recommended that: • Journalists should in the course of reporting conflicts and other issues avoid compromising professional and ethical principles so as not to be seen as being biased by parties to the dispute; Allegations of bias could expose journalists to risk or danger; • Media proprietors and the union/professional associations of journalists should put in place multiple insurance schemes as part of the welfare provisions for journalists; Journalists working in or reporting in conflict prone areas should in addition be entitled to special insurance schemes as they face higher risks of attacks, accidents, injuries and loss of life and property; • Security agents should accept the obligation to protect and ensure the safety of journalists working in or reporting in conflict affected areas; • Security agents should understand the necessity of attending to requests for information on conflicts from journalists; They not see such requests as constituting acts of hostility to the state; • Security agencies and media professional bodies and associations should hold periodic roundtables to discuss issues in conflicts and the challenge of ensuring the safety of journalists; Such forum would also enable them to develop mechanisms for overcoming mutual distrust and suspicion; • Journalists reporting in conflict affected areas should understand that security agencies are invaluable sources of reliable information and therefore should cultivate them in a professional and respectful manner; • Media outlets and media professional bodies/associations should commit adequate resources to the training and re-training of editors and reporters on conflict sensitive reporting and safety in reporting conflicts; • Journalists working in conflict prone areas must study and imbibe professional safety tips; They should avoid acts that could put their lives at risk; • The reporting of conflicts should take into account the plights of women and children; Journalists should adopt the principles of gender sensitivity in reporting violent conflicts especially by avoiding gory or offensive details of violent acts against women and children; • Journalists should adopt the principle of an injury to one is an injury to all, and therefore act in solidarity whenever in any one of them is subjected to harassment or assault by whosoever; • Media managers/gate keepers must not allow their partisan or commercial interests to override good judgment in reporting conflict issues so as not to expose journalists reporting from the field to unnecessary risk or danger; • The media should in line with its social duty and constitutional obligation hold government accountable to its responsibility to provide for the needs of the people and alleviate poverty, so as to discourage the resort to acts of terrorism. Lanre Arogundade Director, IPC Tel: +234 (0) 8023186845 ,

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Communique of a One-Day Multi-Stakeholders’ Parley on Ensuring Credible and Violence-Free State-Level Election in Lagos State

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  Introduction A one-day multi-stakeholders’ parley on ensuring credible and violence free state-level election in Lagos State was held at Women Development Centre, near Pen Cinema, Agege,  Lagos on Wednesday, April 1, 2015. The multi-stakeholders’ parley was organized by the International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria under an election and democratic governance project tagged: Strengthening Citizens’ Engagement in Electoral Processes (SCEEP) being implemented across ten (10) States by ACTIONAID Nigeria, funded by UKAID through The Department for International Development (DFID). About 140 persons including representatives of the Media, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Disability groups, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Religious groups, Youth associations, Women groups, Security Agencies, Student groups and other institutional stakeholders were in attendance. Welcome remarks and goodwill messages were delivered by Mr. Lanre Arogundade, Director, IPC; Mr. Kenneth Okoinneme, Governance Advisor, ActionAid Nigeria and Mr. Damilare Babalola, Representative of DFID.  Institutional Stakeholders that addressed the parley on issues relating to achieving credible and violence free elections at the event were Mr. Waheed Ishola, Director, National Orientation Agency – Lagos; ACP Edward Egbuka, Area Commander, Ogba representing the Lagos State Commissioner of Police; Mr. Adeola Soetan, Coordinator, Democracy Vanguard and Mrs. Nihinlola Aluko-olokun, a legal practitioner and member of African Women Lawyers Association. The core objectives of the parley was to build consensus amongst the various stakeholders; the electoral management body, the security forces, the political parties and representatives of the media, civil society, youth groups, religious groups and the electorate in ensuring that the April 11, 2015 State level elections in Lagos is credible and violence free. Following the presentations by the institutional stakeholders, there was a plenary session where other stakeholders from representatives of the civil society platforms at the parley engaged in robust interactive discussions as well as questions and answers on varying perspectives around the objectives of the parley. Observations The parley made the following observations: The Presidential and National Assembly Polls held on March 28, 2015 were relatively free, credible and violence free. The turnout of voters during the Presidential and National Assembly Polls was relatively low compared to previous elections and the number of registered voter. The introduction of Permanent Voter Card and the Card Reader by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) helped to curb multiple voting and ensured that the Presidential and National Assembly Polls were free, fair and credible. The late arrival of INEC officials and voting materials at polling units and the card reader malfunction resulted in late commencement of voting in some places. The Police and other security agencies were fully on ground on Election Day and provided maximum security during the poll. Some people living with disabilities were disenfranchised as a result of poor enforcement of priority voting. Some journalists were hindered by the Police from carrying out their duties on Election Day and some were assaulted and detained by security agencies in some parts of the country. The immediate concession of defeat by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan helped in dousing tension and curbing possible break out of violence following the announcement of results by INEC. Recommendations Following the discussions at the parley, participants recommended as follows: INEC INEC should investigate alleged cases of underage voters and prosecute all electoral offenders found culpable. INEC should ensure that voting materials get to polling units on time and resolve cases of inadequacies ahead the April 11 state-level elections. INEC officers on election-day should announce and implement priority voting for the aged, pregnant women and people living with disabilities. INEC should firm up collaboration with other institutional stakeholders including the Police, NOA, CSOs and the Media towards achieving credible gubernatorial and state assembly polls in Lagos State. NOA NOA should do more voter education and public enlightenment ahead of the Governorship and State Assembly polls on April 11, 2015. NOA should take the voter education campaign to the grassroot and strengthen their local units. Nigerian Police The Police should investigate allegations of electoral offence levelled against their members and sanction erring officers. The Police should accord regard to journalists on Election Day and work with them as partners. The Police should ensure maximum security is provided at all polling units including crisis-prone areas on Election Day. Media The media should ensure fair and balanced reporting of the elections and adhere strictly to the media code of election coverage. Journalists reporting elections should build cordial relationship with electoral officers and security agencies and observe safety rules/tips on Election Day. CSOs and International Agencies CSOs should step up voter education campaigns among the electorates. International development agencies should give more support to programmes that will consolidate democratic governance and build citizen participation in governance and electoral process. Electorate The electorate should conduct themselves in an orderly manner at the polling unit and adhere to all rules and processes related to voting. The electorate should safeguard their PVCs, vote on Election Day and ensure their votes are counted. The electorate should allow priority voting for the aged, pregnant women and people living with disabilities. The electorate, beyond political party and political candidates preferences should work with a common purpose that ensures that the elections is conducted in a peacefully and orderly manner. Community based groups and associations should provide enabling environment for the voting processing, e.g. providing chairs and temporary shelter for the aged and pregnant women to sit and wait after accreditation, etc. The youth should resist attempts by politicians and parties to use them as tools to perpetrate electoral malpractices and violence. Religious leaders should preach and pass the message of violent free and peaceful elections during services. Political Parties Candidates and their parties should adhere strictly to the rules of the game and desist from fomenting electoral violence. Candidates and their parties should accept the outcome of the elections in good faith. Candidates and political parties who are aggrieved should follow laid down procedures to seeking redress and not resort to making provocative statements that can instigate violence. The participants acknowledged that the parley

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2015 Poll: Situation Room warns against fiddling with collation

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Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has expressed concern over reports of attempts across several states of the country to undermine the integrity of the collation of votes and outcome of the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on 28 March 2015. According to a statement made available at a press briefing in Abuja today, the Situation Room expressed disappointment over actions of politicians who are bent on plunging the country into chaos to achieve desperate political ends. “The Situation Room received disturbing reports that politicians are attempting to use national security apparatuses are to fiddle with the election collation process and pass off results that undermine the credibility of the elections and the sacrifice of millions of Nigerians, who against all odds trooped out to cast their votes on 28 March. “Reported electoral fraud being sought to be perpetuated by political forces and security personnel negate the spirit of the Abuja Peace Accord voluntarily signed by the presidential candidates of the political parties, and threaten the peace and stability of the Nigerian nation”, the statement read. The Situation Room called on security personnel to note that they will be held to account and pursued for prosecution under various national and international laws if they undermine the elections. Read more here.

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Promoting media professionalism, UNDP courts online publishers

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As Nigeria prepares for the 2015 General Elections scheduled for 28th March, UNDP facilitated a dialogue with online publishers as part of efforts aimed at promoting peaceful elections in the country. The dialogue which took place on 10th February, came at a time when Nigeria’s political parties are increasingly using non-traditional media platforms and tools to campaign and engage with the general public. This move towards cyber-mediated engagement has been fuelled by the growing realization that a huge percentage of Nigerians are online and are actively engaging on issues in the democratic space. Nigeria is currently ranked 8th on the global internet engagement scale with more than 73 million people that actively engage the internet. Noting that majority of online social media users are youths, it is important that engagements with them on these platform promote peace and constructive dialogue on development issues affecting the country. UNDP, through its Democratic Governance for Development (DGD II) project  initiated this  dialogue with publishers of on-line news media to advocate for increased professionalism in their reporting and commitment to support aimed at ensuring that the forthcoming election are held in a peaceful environment. Read more here.

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