Get Guardian on GoogleMembers of the Media Centre for Promotion of Safety Awareness (MCPOSA) have observed that election coverage in the country has become increasingly high-risk, adding that it behoves on state actors to provide adequate protection for journalists.
The members spoke at a symposium convened by MCPOSA and Safety&SecurityWatch magazine. The event was held in Lagos to commemorate United Nations International Day to End Impunity of Crimes against Journalists.
Themed, ‘Election safety: Reporting without being the casualty,’ there were conversations around safety of journalists during elections, professional conduct, peace and conflict prevention, and security and public safety.
In a communique issued at the end of the symposium, a central warning was repeated: Journalists must not become the story.
Attendees agreed that even security personnel think of personal safety first before protecting others, adding, “journalists must do the same.
Participants at the symposium include, journalists, media managers, security agencies led by the Nigeria Police and other stakeholders/
Participants noted that journalists have different personalities and individual styles. This individuality comes into play when working together and when working with security agencies. It must be managed with professionalism, not friction.
The Nigeria Police, at formation, command and Force Headquarters levels, affirmed that policing cannot be done alone. The Police need the media to project what they are doing, what they are about to do, and what they have in stock to do. The media equally needs the Police for access, protection and credible information; concern was raised that many persons nowadays parade as journalists, particularly with phones and iPhones, without the ethics of the profession. Participants agreed that the absence of ethics endangers genuine journalists, security operatives and the public, and undermines trust.
They further resolved that during joint operations, journalists must listen to operational advice and operational directives from officers on ground. What officers see in real-time is intelligence gathering. Safety instructions may not be given in full detail to avoid panic, but they must be obeyed promptly, such as vacating an area that may be under attack.
The resolutions at the symposium include, no media house shall deploy journalists on election duty without a safety briefing and basic Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) provision; every journalist is first responsible for his/her own safety before any other person. Journalists must not delegate safety to editor, media house, the police, or anyone else; journalists shall prioritise personal safety over exclusive shots or footage. No exclusive is worth injury or death; every journalist must develop a Safety-First Mindset before launching out on election duty. If you don’t plan to be safe, you have already planned to be unsafe.
Other recommendations are media houses and associations, including the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), shall enforce a minimum ethics and accreditation standard for election coverage, to distinguish professional journalists from impostors; security agencies and media shall agree, before every election operation, on a clear signal, safe movement area, and evacuation protocol, and all parties shall comply; journalists shall observe and assess their environment continuously, like observing crowd mood, influx of new persons, and plan available exit routes in case of an emergency; police shall continue to brief media in a timely, non-panic manner, and media shall respect operational confidentiality where disclosure would endanger lives and stakeholders shall promote peace and prevent conflict, professional conduct, and security and public safety as the three pillars of election reporting.
The symposium welcomes and endorses the flag-off of nominations for 2027 Nigeria Safety and Security – NSAS Awards for Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Excellence in the Workplace, as safety in journalism is safety at work. All sectors; media, security, banking, ports, manufacturing, oil and gas and all others are encouraged to nominate HSE champions.
Partners of the event include, members of NUJ, Fidelity Bank, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
