The Federal Government yesterday implored the military to adopt strategies to improve on military, civil relationships.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, gave the charge in Abuja, at the opening of the one-day defence correspondents seminar held at the Defence Headquarters.

He said this became necessary in order to change the perception that there are mutual suspicions between the civil populace and the military.

The minister stressed it was also necessary to improve on information dissemination concerning their roles in the protection of Nigeria’s security and territorial integrity.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel Olonisakin, called on media practitioners to place national interest ahead of any other sentiments in the course of their duties.

“I recommend the putting in place of a sound public information strategy to enlighten Nigerians about the important roles the military has been tasked to play in the country. We should be able to keep the public abreast of other developmental services,” he said.

According to him, the people must be made to understand that the military is there to serve them and therefore, deserves their maximum support. This would help in reducing the level of misunderstanding of the legitimate role of the military in the management of internal conflicts.”

The minister, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Ayotunde Adesugba, urged the correspondents to always be guided by the sense of professionalism and national interest in their reportage of sensitive issues.

He called for broader collaboration between the media and the security agencies through seminars and trainings.

The theme of the seminar was, “Constructive Reportage as an Important Ingredient for National Security and Integration.

The CDS explained, “ The media is quite capable of orchestrating public mistrust against the security forces, because of its enormous power.

Earlier, the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar, harped on the commitment of the leadership of the Defence Headquarters to ensure the principles of openness, transparency.

He said such was important to keep Nigerians informed of the military engagements across the broad spectrum of the country.