The National Coordinator, National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, says the centre sees the media as critical partners in the fight against terrorism and other violent crimes.
Laka said this at the opening the Strategic Media Engagement on counter-terrorism with media managers and editors on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said the media had the sacred duty to promote mutual trust, build unity among Nigerians, and adequately counter the destructive ideology and narratives of terrorist groups.
According to him, media contents, which include drama and jingle, have been well employed to enlighten and re-engineer the mind.
“They carry messages that encourage respect for human dignity, appreciation for our diversity, inspire loyalty and love for service of other land.
“As media chiefs, there is no doubt that you are better informed than members of any other industry or profession of the happenings around the world and among these happenings are what we term wicked problems which the world is being bedevilled with.
“Since the rise of the Boko Haram insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria in 2009, the country’s insecurity is exacerbated by terrorism, violent extremism, banditry, secessionist agitations and other forms of organized crimes.
“It is with the deliberate intent to address terrorism that warranted the signing into law the Terrorism Prevention Act.
“The Act necessitated the establishment of the Counterterrorism Center in 2012 as a directorate in the office of the National Security Advisor,’’ he said.
The coordinator said that the issues of national security had both military and non-military dimensions which include geostrategic, demographic, cyber, resources, information, and many areas relating to socio-economic matters.
He said that NCTC was engaged in a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to drive home the significance of contribution of every strata of the Nigerian economy in the fight against the enemies of the Nigerian state.
“This meeting is to enable us draw from your wealth of knowledge and experience with the hope to spark a conversation that will set tangible agenda for the government, political leaders, and policymakers’
“It is to also offer guides for informed decision-making, national planning, and implementation of laudable projects and programs for national reconstruction and attainment of sustainable development,’’ he added.
The Special Adviser, Strategic Communication, ONSA, Mr Zakari Mijinyawa, said the role of the media could not be overstated in a world where the nature of terrorism is evolving at an unprecedented pace.
Mijinyawa described the media as shapers of public perception, influencers of policy, and in many ways, guardians of the truth.
He that the Terrorism Prevention Act, and all the strategic national documents developed through ONSA, envisages the role of the media in counter-terrorism.
According to him, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has enabled a transparent, accountable, and result-oriented approach in matters of national security.
“Decisions of the media on what to report, how to report it, and when to report it can have profound implications, both intended and unintended.
“The challenges we face today are complex. Terrorism has become more decentralised, with ideologies spreading like wildfire through the very platforms that also serve as vital tools for free expression and democratic discussion.
“The media, while striving to inform and educate the public, must also navigate this very difficult landscape carefully, ensuring that coverage neither glorifies acts of terror, nor inadvertently contributes to the spread of extremist narratives,’’ he said.
Mijinyawa said that the media engagement by NCTC was not just about discussing the threats that facing the nation, but also about exploring the responsibilities that we must share.
He emphasised the need to balance the public’s right to know with the need to ensure national security by ensuring that reporting terrorism upholds the highest ethical standards.
“ This is therefore a unique opportunity for us to collaborate, to learn from each other, and to reinforce our commitment to responsibility.
“As we move forward in these discussions, let us remember that the media’s role in counterterrorism is not just about coverage, it is also about courage.
“Courage to report the facts of integrity, the courage to resist sensationalism, and the courage to be part of the solution in building safer, more resilient, and informed societies’’ he added.