BY TOSIN ADESILE
An NGO, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has trained 50 Nigerian journalists from broadcast, print, online and bloggers on election safety.
The two-day training, which held between January 17-18 was organised in partnership with Canadian Funds for local Initiatives with journalists drawn from 36 States of the federation held at Colossus Hotel in Lagos against the background of attacks which is usually on the high side during election period particularly at political rallies and voting centers.
Declaring the event opened, Ms Busola Ajibola, Deputy Director, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development said the purpose of the Training was to refresh journalists understanding of the crucial role they play in ensuring credible elections.
Speaking further, she said that the training curriculum focuses on the connection between journalism and democracy, emphasizing that weak journalism can threaten democracy with topics covering key elements of the 2022 Electoral Act, crucial issues for journalists to focus on in the upcoming elections, and strategies for investigating them.
His words: “Society has entrusted journalists with the responsibility of holding those in power accountable to the public. This task is however compromised when facts are distorted in our reporting. This training will therefore provide us with knowledge on ways to stem the tides of information disorder in election coverage”.
Ajibola stressed that to further address the issue of Journalists’ safety in elections, CJID will host a hybrid National Symposium on 31st January 2023 to sensitize government, security agencies, political parties, and all other stakeholders on the need to commit to protecting journalists and ensuring their safety at all times – including during elections.
In his presentation, Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, Chief Executive Officer of premium times who spoke on the nexus between Journalism and democracy said professionalism can only grow within the dynamics of democracy when journalists perform their duties properly.
He encouraged Journalists never to deviate from the core of journalism which can help lead to serious democracy with effective solution.
Highlights of the training includes session moderated by Mr Idris Akinbajo,Mr Samson Itodo, Mr Amzat Ajibola on Investigative Tips for Reporting Election, Electoral Acts, Writing Election Story and Deploying Fact-checking & verification to stem the dangers to election respectively.