CSOs chide sectional media over support for Boko Haram, rallies support for Nigerian Army.
The Coalition of Civil Society Groups against Terrorism in Nigeria has expressed its worry over what it termed as the unpatriotic activities of some media organisations and some partisan individuals in their recent reportage of the activities of the decimated but very desperate Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorist group, which is aimed at promoting their recent isolated attacks on some soft targets in the North Eastern part of the country, while deliberately denigrating the gallantry of our Military, particularly the Nigerian Army, through false narratives on our on going military operations to flush out the remnants of the terrorist group.
The group in a statement issued on Saturday in Lagos and signed by its Convener, Comrade Odeyemi Oladimeji expressed serious worry over what they called undue patronage being given to the Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorist group by this media organizations and their foreign collaborators, saying that such publicity emboldens the terrorists and make them extremely proactive in their deadly operations, which has claimed lives of several Nigerians.
The group said it is unfair for these selected group of media organizations and their patrons to be using their platforms for the promotion of terrorist activities in a manner that seeks to distract the war against insurgency, by releasing not only false information about the isolated attacks being perpetrated by the Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorist group, but also exposing vital information regarding military formations and operations, which is increasingly endangering the lives of our troops and other security agencies, battling the remnants of the insurgents in the Northeastern part of the country.
The group described the actions of some highly partisan individuals and the accused section of the media as sabotage and blackmail, laced with ulterior motives, aimed at distracting the last stage of the war against insurgency.
A closer look at the activities of this obviously unpatriotic media outlets donating generous amounts of space in their platforms for the promotion of the activities of the remnants of the decimated terrorist clearly shows that these unfriendly media and their partisan sponsors are always out to tarnish the image of the Federal Government and the Nigerian Military, while also celebrating the isolated cases of Boko Haram/ ISWAP attacks, with the sole aim of emboldening these terrorists, whose major tools of recent has been propaganda and deceit.
There is no doubt that over time, these terrorists have been extremely proactive with the use of information dissemination. This is why we are worried about the type of publicity, they are being given because that is what keeps them going. We are of the view, that by the time these criminal elements are denied such publicity they are currently enjoying in the section of the media, they will lose strength.
The group also said Nigerians need to be aware, of how information could be disseminated, taking cognizance of national security and the interest of our gallant men and women, fighting day and night, to protect our territorial integrity.
While calling on media practitioners to be patriotic and highly professional in reporting our various military operations against terrorism and insurgency in the country, the group also urged media organisations, both local and foreign to always crosscheck their facts with relevant security agencies before going to the press. The group also commended the Super Camp concept of the Nigerian Army, saying the Concept is yielding massive results in dealing with the remnants of the Book Haram/ ISWAP terrorist group as was witnessed recently in Gworoge village in Dikwa L G A of Borno State, where scores of terrorists met their waterloo in the hands of our gallant troops.