Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), has called on the media to be wary of fake news and biased reporting.
Owasanoye made the appeal on Monday, June 19, 2023, at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja while declaring open a two-day workshop for reporters covering the activities of the ICPC.
He stated that “fake news and biased reporting threaten all of us. It threatens the stability of the state, and it threatens professional competencies and our livelihoods”.
Furthermore, he said that the workshop would offer an opportunity for the Commission and the media to close ranks about deciding how to “continue to communicate professionally bearing the risk of reporting fake news in mind”.
He therefore advised the attendees to take advantage of the opportunity to establish a relationship with the ICPC. Not just a relationship that requires the Commission to disclose which high-profile case it is investigating, but a relationship that will help discuss how to deal with the prevalent problem of corruption as well as the challenges and risks that both the media and anti-corruption agencies face globally.
The ICPC boss also stated that following the first training workshop for journalists held last year, there had been an improvement in reportage and that this can be further improved upon by more engagements and sharing of information and perspective with stakeholders, such as the workshop, in order to bridge the gaps that have existed.
Earlier, Mohammed Ashiru Baba, the Director, Public Enlightenment and Education Department of the commission, pointed out how, over the years, the media had focused only on news about the arrest and prosecution of prominent persons in society, saying that such practices negated efforts at curbing corruption.
“This one-sided outlook by the media was due to the erroneous belief by some media practitioners that the fight against corruption begins and ends with the arrest and prosecution of corrupt politically exposed persons”, he said.
Mr. Baba therefore outlined some of the Commission’s newsworthy efforts at “enhancing corporate good governance through Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units (ACTUs) in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs); Systems Study and Review; Ethics and Integrity Scorecards; Corruption Risk Assessments; Youth Outreach; and behavioral change strategies conducted by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN),” which the media was mute on.
He noted that 90 percent of the Commission’s operations were preventive and public education in nature, which deserves widespread and positive media coverage, and that even prosecutions and convictions should be widely and positively publicized.
Attendees at the workshop were journalists on the ICPC beat in the Federal Capital Territory, and it showcased insightful presentations on the achievements and initiatives of the Commission.
