Journalists in Nigeria have been tasked with ensuring fair and impartial coverage of judicial processes, especially in this day and age when fake news is widely disseminated via social media.
The National Judicial Institute (NJI) administrator, retired Justice Salisu Abdullahi, made the plea in Abuja at the start of a two-day course for journalists organised by the institute.
Abdullahi instructed the participants picked from the judiciary beat to always depict the judiciary in a positive light.
The workshop with the theme “Pursuing Media Service Excellence for Optimal Productivity in the Judiciary” is aimed at improving the knowledge of journalists reporting court cases.
The NJI administrator urged journalists to be governed by the dictates and ethics of journalism practice at all times.
Abdullahi expressed confidence that adhering to the ethics of the profession regularly will undoubtedly enhance media quality, which in turn will deepen optimal judicial production.
“It is important that I emphasise the need to remain unbiased as journalists and as judiciary correspondents,” he said.
He stressed that it is important for judiciary reporters to carefully streamline their reporting to reflect the integrity exhibited by judicial officers.
While praising journalists for the strong relationship they have with the NJI, Abdulazeez Olumo, the secretary of the institute, expressed sadness that the public perception of the judiciary has not been kind and complimentary.
