Media rights tasks media owners, NUJ on safety of journalists
(Nigeria) The Media Rights Agenda, MRA, a civil rights organisation for protecting and promoting press freedom, on Thursday called on media house owners to equip journalists with adequate relevant trainings to guarantee their safety.
Mr Ayode Longe, Programme Manager, MRA made the call in an
interview with NAN in Lagos.
He also called on the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, to
make continued training and safety of journalists its priority.
Longe noted that journalists in advanced countries were able
to undertake dangerous investigations as well as coverage of war because they
had insurance and had been equipped with the right training.
“The journalists need to be trained; they need to get
insurance cover. They need to be given the right gadgets and it is a
responsibility for media houses and NUJ because these are people working for
you,” he said.
He also advised journalists to carry out research and take
advantage of several training opportunities available online to increase their
knowledge on the job and safety.
“Google can do that, you may not find perfect answers but
some of those answers can help you take necessary safety steps,” he said.
He also called on security agencies to adopt proactive
measures against kidnap of journalists and other Nigerians.
The programme manager further advised security agencies to
use some people as trap to catch kidnappers.
“There are areas where kidnapping is rampart, let our
security agencies plant chips on some people and use them as bait in those
areas to catch kidnappers,” he said.
Speaking on the welfare of journalists, Longe berated media
owners for owing their workers salaries running to several months.
He said that the MRA could get the courts to close down
erring media houses to pay the workers with the support of the workers affected
and NUJ.
“If a media house owes, then there is need to go to court
and declare it bankrupt and close it down. This is because if you are owing
salaries, you should pay, and if you cannot pay it means you are bankrupt and
should be closed down.
“Journalists don’t want that, so, MRA cannot be toeing that
line but we also believe that being members of NUJ, the NUJ ought to fight for
them.
He, however, said that MRA was ‘handicapped’ because some
journalists from the media houses owing salaries usually sabotaged efforts to
fight for their welfare.
Longe urged journalists to take their destiny in their hands
and stand for what they wanted.
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