The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has urged Nigerian media organisations to exercise restraint in the coverage of terrorists and other criminal groups, saying that giving them widespread publicity only amplifies fear and plays into their objectives.
He made the appeal at a security summit organised by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in collaboration with the State Security Service (SSS), also known as the DSS, where he stressed the need for journalists to balance press freedom with national interest.
“Please take these terrorists and criminals off your front pages. This is what they crave for free of charge,” he said.
The two-day event brought together key stakeholders in the security and media sectors, including representatives of the International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria, military and police officials, as well as delegates from the Defence Minister Christopher Musa and Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf. The DSS Director-General is also expected to present at the summit.
Idris expressed concern that media reports often place more emphasis on the activities of criminals while giving less attention to the efforts of security agencies working to maintain peace and safety across the country.
“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 said.
He clarified that his position was not a call for censorship, but a reminder that responsible journalism requires careful judgment about what should be published in the interest of national unity.
“No one 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.
Idris also noted that Nigeria is facing a range of evolving security threats, including terrorism, banditry, cybercrime, misinformation, and organised crime, stressing that stronger cooperation between the media and security agencies is increasingly necessary.
