Nasarawa NUJ, Police partner to flush out quack journalists
By Faith AM
The Nasarawa State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has partner with the State Police Command to clamp down on fake journalists and impersonators in the State.
Salihu Mohammed-Alkali, NUJ Chairman stated this on Friday in Lafia while presenting members of the Anti-Quackery Enforcement Committee to Shetima Jauro-Mohammed, Commissioner of Police (CP) in the state.
The committee chaired by Chris Nyamtu of Federal Radio Cooperation of Nigeria and Secretary of the Correspondents’ Chapel, has Smah George of Nasarawa Broadcasting Service as its Secretary.
Other members of the committee include: Madaki Member of Precious FM, Abigail Bashi of Nigerian Television Authority, Mohammed Illiyasu of Breeze FM, Zephaniah Over of FRCN North-Central office, Alaku Malam of Federal Ministry of Information and Eyibo Baba-Ojingwo of State Ministry of Information, respectively.
The NUJ Chairman said that the partnership became imperative due to the increasing number of persons impersonating as journalists, thereby extorting unsuspecting members of the public and giving the profession a bad name.
He also explained that a lot of people who are not journalists are using NUJ or Press stickers in their vehicles, and that cannot be tolerated.
Mohammed-Alkali said that members of the committee are charged with the responsibility to report the impersonators or those using the stickers to the police for necessary action.
“When you see them in public functions or on the roads do not hesitate to report to the nearest police station for prompt action.
“We must sanitise the profession and we will not allow any person or group to tarnish our good image,’ the NUJ Chairman added.
He used the medium and appreciated the police and other security agencies for the good work they are doing to keep the state safe and urged them to do more in areas that still have security challenges.
The Chairman therefore assured that journalists in the state would support the police in intelligence gathering with a view to tackling insecurity and promoting peace.
On his part, Chris Nyamtu, Chairman of the Committee, who spoke on behalf of others, expressed gratitude to the union for the confidence reposed in them and promised to discharge their assigned responsibility without fear or favour.
Responding, the Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police welcomed the partnership and recognised the crucial role journalists play in shaping public perception and influencing behaviour.
The CP said that the partnership would further enhance the flow of information and promote more effective policing in the state.
“Our support to you is total, because you are critical to fighting crime and insecurity and ensuring that the state is safe,” Jauro-Mohammed added.
He further said that the command had been doing a lot under him in the last eight months to curtail insecurity.
“We have achieved a lot in terms of arresting criminals and recovering stolen items, and we will not relent until we defeat criminals completely in the state,” he added.
The Commissioner, therefore, appealed to members of the public to continue to provide the security agencies with useful information to enable them to catch the criminals before they commit crimes.
