A delegation of the Osun NUJ Online Media Chapel, led by its Chairman, Mr. Isa Isawade, paid a courtesy visit to the Osun State Command of the Department of State Services (DSS) at its headquarters in Osogbo. The delegation was warmly received by the Director of the Osun State DSS Command, Mr. Victor Okon Edet, FSI, along with his high management team. The visit aimed to foster strategic alliances with key institutions and promote ethical reportage.
The Osun NUJ Online Media Chapel was established as a veritable regulator of online journalism with the full backing of the national body of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). The chapel seeks to address the growing challenge of misinformation, disinformation, and unprofessional conduct in the online media space. Its regulatory role is not punitive but corrective and developmental, designed to sanitise the online media ecosystem and restore public confidence in digital journalism.
The DSS Director, Mr. Victor Okon Edet, expressed profound appreciation for the visit, describing it as timely and necessary. He acknowledged the media as the Fourth Estate of the Realm of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and noted the enormous responsibility that comes with that constitutional recognition. He observed that if issues are not published or reported, they would never be known, underscoring the critical role of the media as the public's eyes and ears.
Edet lamented that over time, the partnership between security agencies and the media had been eroded. He urged the chapel to rise to the occasion and rebuild that bridge of trust and cooperation. The DSS, under the administration of its Director-General, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, had been mandated to maintain less visibility, focusing on its core mandate of intelligence gathering and national security without unnecessary public attention.
The DSS Director appreciated the role the media played during the just-concluded Osun Governorship Election, lauding the spotlighting which he said had placed Osun on the radar as a case study for future elections in Nigeria. He noted that the professionalism displayed by journalists during the election contributed significantly to the relatively peaceful conduct of the exercise. Edet also commended the chapel for its efforts to regulate online journalism and ensure that practitioners operate within the bounds of the law.
Edet pointed out that cyber-bullying was another scourge plaguing the online space and urged the chapel to operate strictly within the ambit of the law. He emphasized that proper registration of practitioners be made sacrosanct for clarity and identification, noting that the proliferation of unregistered and unaccountable online media operators poses a serious threat to national security and public order. He also urged that reporting be toned down on the activities of bandits and criminals.
The Director promised adequate support and collaboration with the chapel, assuring that the DSS would work closely with the chapel to ensure that online journalism in Osun State operates within the bounds of the law and in the interest of national security. He also charged the chapel to investigate and call out the problem of illegal mining and its perpetrators, and to help arrest the developing problem of forceful takeovers of motor parks in Osun State.
Key points
- The Osun NUJ Online Media Chapel seeks to promote ethical reportage and regulate online journalism in Osun State.
- The DSS Director, Mr. Victor Okon Edet, urged the chapel to operate strictly within the ambit of the law and to rebuild the bridge of trust and cooperation between security agencies and the media.
- The chapel aims to address the growing challenge of misinformation, disinformation, and unprofessional conduct in the online media space.
