As voters prepare to exercise their franchise in Saturday’s Osun State governorship election, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Osun State Council, has called on all stakeholders to ensure the safety and security of journalists deployed across the state to cover the exercise.

In a statement by the Chairman,  Adeyemi Aboderin and Secretary, Olalekan Akindoju, the council noted that journalists must be allowed to perform their constitutional responsibility of informing the public without intimidation, harassment, assault, arrest, obstruction or any form of interference.

The NUJ, therefore, called on political parties, candidates, their supporters, security agencies, election officials and other stakeholders to respect press freedom and ensure that journalists are able to move freely and safely while carrying out their professional duties.

“Journalists covering the election are also urged to prioritise their personal safety, exercise caution in volatile situations, avoid unnecessary confrontation and immediately document and report any incident that threatens their safety or ability to work.

In this regard, the Council encourages all journalists covering the election to take advantage of the WaFlo WhatsApp-enabled live election incident reporting system deployed by the International Press Centre.

The system is an AI-assisted technology platform designed to facilitate the real-time reporting, documentation and monitoring of incidents affecting journalists and press freedom during the election.

Journalists can access the reporting channel through the Safe Media WhatsApp prompt at https://dub.sh/safemedia, or by typing “safemedia” and sending the text to 0805 877 8053.

The Council encourages journalists to make responsible use of the platform by promptly and accurately reporting incidents such as threats, harassment, physical attacks, detention, equipment seizure, denial of access or other forms of interference with their work,” the statement disclosed.

The union further urged security agencies to recognise journalists as essential actors in the democratic process and provide adequate protection for media personnel working at polling units, collation centres and other election-related locations.

Calling on journalists to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, impartiality and accuracy throughout the election, the NUJ emphasised the need for all stakeholders to protect the peace and ensure that the election is conducted in an atmosphere where citizens can freely exercise their voting rights and journalists can safely report the process.