DEEPEN YOUR PERSPECTIVE IN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF PREMIUM TIMES TASK MEDIA PRACTITIONERS IN SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH SOUTH.

Media practitioners in the south-east and south-south regions have been encouraged to increase their knowledge of data gathering and investigative skills in order to improve the practice of journalism in the area.

The Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times Online Newspaper, Mr. Mojeed Musikilu, stated this at a six-day special training on investigative journalism organised by Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) with support from the European Union (EU) and the British Council.

Mr. Musikilu said with the increasing wave of fake news circulating in the media space via unverified sources, there is the need for journalists to be more professional in carrying out their duties. 

This, he said could be achieved if reporters combined data management skills and in-depth knowledge of relevant laws when undertaking investigative reporting, especially in the criminal justice and anti-corruption sector.

Mr. Musikilu maintained that it was only when media practitioners carried out such investigations that service delivery in public institutions would be improved upon.

According to Mr. Musikilu, Nigerians were yet to derive maximum benefits from the various citizens oriented legislations, including the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, Administration of Criminal Justice Act, Public Procurement Act, and Code of Ethics for Journalists. 

Participants were drilled on the duties of agencies and public officers in the justice sector, ICT skills involved in accessing information from security agencies, and the rudiments of carrying out investigation into activities of those agencies and public officers in order to hold them accountable.

Three Radio Nigeria Correspondents Alfred Ajayi, Ejiofo Umegbogu and Uche Ndeke were among the journalists that participated in the intensive training programme.

EJIOFO UMEGBOGU