Jutha Gupah, Maiduguri
The University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) don, in the Department of Mass Communication, Dr. Dauda Sharafa has said that journalists’ safety and protection ensure free, fair and credible 2023 general elections.
According to him, these are public expectations to provide independent and verifiable evidence of election results across the country.
Sharafa made the declarations, yesterday (Monday), to mark International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists; in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
He said that election-related protection threats to journalists include confiscation and destruction of equipment, publications and raiding of media houses by some security agencies.
Unveiling the sources of threats, Dr. Sharafa, in a paper entitled: “Safety and Protection of Journalists in the 2023 General Election Coverage,” said that; “State and non-state actors; and the media ownership interests, are the major sources of threats to journalists’ safety and protection”
He added that political elites, politicians and their thugs, including other criminal elements constitute threats to journalists.
“The public expectations from journalists, are to expose election malpractices in each of the polling units of the six geopolitical zones in the country,” he said.
He stated that these public expectations could sustain democracy, voters’ education and re-orientation of electorates.
He warned that there could be life-threatening encounters with political thugs, including detentions of journalists by the state actors, including security agencies.
End.
