President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday cautioned Nigerian journalists on the reporting of the nation’s security challenges.
The President, according to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made the call in his Eid-ul-Maulud message to Nigerians.
The Federal Government had declared Tuesday as a public holiday to mark the Eid-ul-Maulud in the country.
The Eid-ul-Maulud is celebrated by Muslims across the world to mark the birthday of Holy Prophet Muhammed.
The President charged journalists to stop reporting that insecurity in the country was “rising” but “declining.”
He declared that security agencies are effectively tackling the security challenges in different parts of the country.
The statement read: “The President uses the occasion to give a snapshot of the increased activities the Armed Forces, Police Force, and intelligence agencies have embarked upon to effectively respond to the security challenges in the nation.
“He says the government fully expects and intends for these trends to continue, and calls on the media to address the tone, content, and standards of reporting into security and safety measures. Time has come to revise the prefixes ‘rising insecurity’ with ‘declining insecurity’.
“The President adds that increased cooperation and collaboration from the citizenry, coupled with reinvigorated, dynamic, and energised police, security and military leadership is helping the administration score more victories against terror, criminality, and economic sabotage. The reality of declining insecurity should replace the inaccurate narrative of rising insecurity in the country.
While there is work to do, the men and women in uniform who are helping the nation to achieve this goal, desire our collective appreciation and encouragement to do even more. The whole country and its mass communications systems have a duty in this regard.”
