Abstract
Nigeria is now being regarded as one of the terrorist states as a result of the activities of the religious and ethnic fundamentalists. The role of newspapers in ethno-religious crime reportage cannot be over emphasised because of the patronage it has attracted over time. The reporting style of the <i>Nigerian Tribune</i> as one of the major national newspapers in the country covering ethno-religious crisis now comes into questioning, as some stake-holders in the media industry have raised doubt as to its objectivity in reportage of issues which affects the social political well-being of the country. Therefore, this study evaluated ethno-religious crime reportage of the <i>Nigerian Tribune</i> between 2015 and 2019. Development media theory served as a building block for this study. The study adopts mix-research method, using quantitative and qualitative research designs; the instruments used for data collection are Coding Sheet named “Content Analysis Checklist on Ethno-Religious Crime Reportage”. The results were analysed using descriptive and textual analysis techniques. Findings showed that<i> Nigerian Tribune</i> reported 592 (56.4%) ethno-religious crimes for the period under review; its reports of ethno-religious crimes cut across the regions; ranging from Boko Haram-478 (58.0%) in the North- East, Fulani herdsmen attacks-225 (27.3%) in the Middle Belt, South-West and South-East; Banditry-89 (10.8%) in North-West and militancy 32 (3.9%) in the South-South. Nigerian Tribune editorial comment provided forty-four solutions to ethno-religious crimes, twelve early warnings and its reportage involved at least two of police report, eye witness accounts, and relatives of victims’ views, armed forces reports and community heads’ positions. <i>Nigerian Tribune</i> is adjudged fair, balance, accurate in its publications on ethno-religious crimes in relation to its mission statement. The study recommends that as the watchdogs of the society, journalists should constantly report ethno-religious crimes, so as to educate the society on the dangers cause by the activities of ethno-religious crime.
Highlights
The media in Nigeria, being the fourth estate of the realm, has a long history in Nigeria dated to the establishment of the first newspaper, Iwe Irohin by a missionary, Rev Henry Townsend in 1859
From the findings of this study, it is concluded that Nigerian Tribune reported ethno-religious crimes under the period reviewed and its reports of ethno-religious crimes cut across the nation ranging from Boko Haram in the northeastern part of the country, Fulani herdsmen attacks in the Middle Bet, South-West and South-East, banditry in Northwestern part and the Niger Delta militancy in the south-south
Nigerian Tribune reported more of hard news followed by editorials and less of features stories on ethno-religious crimes; high numbers of reports on ethno-religious crime were reported on the front page of the newspaper
Summary
The media in Nigeria, being the fourth estate of the realm, has a long history in Nigeria dated to the establishment of the first newspaper, Iwe Irohin by a missionary, Rev Henry Townsend in 1859. The second Nigerian newspaper was Anglo-African established by Robert Campbell in 1863 and was the first paper published in Lagos. The Lagos Times was established by Mr Richard Olamilege and Beale Blaize in 1880 and Nigerian Tribune newspaper was established in 1949 by Chief Obafemi Awolowo in Ibadan Akinwande [1]. Oyejide [2] posits that ethnically diverse countries of the world tend to face significant challenges in terms of unique national identity, ethnic conflicts, inter-ethnic inequality and poor social and economic performance. This is what Nigeria is experiencing today, especially in the security sector. Newspapers have received much recognition and pivotal attention in the dissemination of information, especially in crisis situations across the country Akpan, Ering & Olofu-Adeoye [3]
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