Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
Faced with a rentless tirade of insecurity spanning over a decade and engendered by non state actors like Boko Haram insurgency, banditry and pernicious communal clashes, Nigerians were aghast that adequate security measures like police reform are not in place to counteract these ugly menace.
This has prompted the call by Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN) for the media to play a central role in shaping public understanding of security and driving accountability.
The Executive Director of PWAN, Kemi Okenyode, at a one-day workshop for journalists in Abuja, stressed that responsible, ethical, and gender-sensitive reporting is essential to police reform.
According to her, the ungazetted Police Act 2020 Regulations is stalling needed reforms and that it is incumbent on the media to help spotlight this gap warning that delay in implementation could undermine efforts to protect women, youth, and other vulnerable groups.
The workshop which was organized with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), aimed to strengthen media coverage of police accountability, encourage solutions-focused reporting, and foster collaboration between journalists and law enforcement.
Experienced media experts like BBC correspondent Chris Ewokor urged journalists to go beyond casualty counts and highlight strategies that security agencies are using to combat crime effectively.
Participants discussed reporting challenges, identified gaps in police–community relations, and proposed actionable solutions to improve public trust and the safety of lives and property.
PWAN described the initiative as part of a broader effort to implement the Police Act 2020 across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with a focus on transparency, gender responsiveness, and institutional accountability.
Journalists at the event were sensitized on the urgent need to lead informed public discourse, amplify positive reforms, and hold authorities accountable, a crucial step to achieving lasting security in Nigeria.
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