OWERRI MEDIA SUMMIT: GUESTS INSIST ON RULE OF LAW, ETHICAL STANDARDS & RETRAINING

REPORTER: CHIZOBA OPARA

A human rights activist, Professor Nnamdi Obiaraeri, has urged journalists to push the frontiers of democracy in the exercise of the rights to free speech.

Professor Obiaraeri, who is a former Dean, Faculty of Law Imo State University, mad the remark during a media training held in Owerri as a delivered a lecture entitled: “No Democracy No Free Speech.”

The Don noted that democracy is anchored on respect for human rights, rule of law and due process, which should not be threatened by hate speech, harassment or incitement.

According to the legal luminary, for media to fulfill the duty of providing the people with the information they need to be free and self governed within the ambit of their ethics, there should be freedom of expression and respect for the rule of law.

“I will encourage journalists to place their loyalty first to the masses and as much as possible maintain independence from those they cover to provide a forum for criticism,” Prof. Obiaraeri stated.

He stressed that journalists must be well informed and conversant with the Nigeria constitution,

The Professor of Law noted that whoever practiced outside the rule of law and the ethical standard would predispose themselves to the unpalatable consequences.

Another guest lecturer, Professor Nathan Uzoma, who spoke on “training of Media practitioners,” emphasized the importance of training and re -training of Media personnel.

This is to ensure that none of them was left out in the technological changes being experienced in the system.

According to Prof. Uzoma, constructive and investigative journalism remains panacea in the challenging era of falsehood in the media space due to digital gadgets.

“Journalists must regularly undergo training to check and report against fake news commonly found in the society in recent times,” he opined.

Professor Uzoma further called on media organisations to invest more in academic and capacity training of their staff to perform optimally.

EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU