The Nigerian Press Council, NPC, has expressed appreciation of the paradigm shift in the relationship between the press and the nation’s local intelligence service, the Department of State Services, DSS.
Reacting to the recent release of two journalists who were wrongfully detained in Jos, Plateau State, by the operatives of the service, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Press Council, Dr. Dili Ezughah, said it was “delightful to witness this positive turning point in the press – security relationship in the country”.
Dr. Ezughah said he was touched by the uncommon show of understanding and humility by the Director General of DSS, Mr.Oluwatosin Ajayi, who personally reached out to the President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Al Hassan Yahaya, with unqualified apologies over the unwarranted detention.
The Executive Secretary observed that the new path of collaboration and mutual respect the State Services was charting in dealing with the Fourth Estate of the Realm promised a boost for national cohesion and development.
He urged the press to reciprocate the gesture of the security architecture by complying with the code of ethics for Nigerian journalists.
Dr. Ezughah said the Nigerian Press Council, as the sole government agency saddled with the responsibility of promoting high professional standards for, and ensuring ethical compliance in the Nigerian press, would continue to do everything possible to get journalists to abide by the ethics of the profession.
Signed
Dan Ede
Director, Research and Documentation
