Reporting Terrorism in the era of Politics and Electioneering in Nigeria

Abstract

Terrorism is a serious global social phenomenon which has assumed a pandemic dimension. International bodies such as European Union and United Nations have expressed concern about phenomenal rise of terrorists’ activities with unanimous agreement that terrorism is a deliberate act by an individual or group against a country, its institution or its people. The study is anchored on Agenda setting and Framing theories of the media and relies on archival materials, extant literature and media reports in the contemporary Nigeria environment. Terrorism may be triggered by unfair treatment meted out to individual, groups, or institutions, poverty, unequal distribution and utilization of resources, oppression and suppression of the less privileged members or groups in society, etc. Reporting terrorism is a hard nut to crack on the part of the reporter who is entangled in the precarious terrain of the area of assignment and the media organization he/she is working for. The reporter sometimes finds himself/herself in a dilemma as he is faced with the task of reporting facts (not fiction) amid ensuring that the media organization is not offended. The priority of the reporter should be to get the fact of the story and present it in an unbiased and objective manner devoid of suspicion. The impact of terrorism on the citizenry is enormous. Aside the loss in human lives, it can damage its economic, political and social fabrics of the nation. At the professional plank, many journalists have lost their lives in the cause of reporting terrorist acts. The study recommends the reduction of poverty, inequality, promotion of justice and fairness and the rule of law, greater participation in governance, and improvement in intelligence gathering among others. Keywords: Terrorism, reportage, poverty, participatory governance, democracy.