JODER trains journalists on peace building and conflict reporting

Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER), a civil society organisation, has trained reporters on conflict reporting and peacebuilding.

The training, which brought together journalists in the print, electronic and online media, held in Lagos on Monday.

The exercise themed ‘Conflict Reporting and Peace Building’ was funded by the International Institute for Education (IEE) and Ford Foundation, West Africa.

Adewale Adeoye, the executive director of JODER, said the training was needed to equip journalists on ways to save the peace of the country through the prevention of insecurity or crisis in any form.

“The need to prevent major ethnic backlash in the face of the prevalent state of insecurity across the nation makes the training expedient,” he said.

In his remarks, Qasim Akinreti, Lagos state chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), called on journalists to avoid biases when writing their reports.

He said such actions could cause tension and result in violence.

He urged journalists to adopt caution in their reports as “unconfirmed information could lead to a chain of events ending up in a major conflict.”

During the training, journalists were provided with manuals which would guide them in further reportage on conflict.

Other facilitators at the training include Babajide Otitoju, TVC director of news; Chris Nderibe, former news editor, Vanguard Newspaper; and Dotun Oladipo, publisher of Eagle Online.