How The Mainstream Nigerian Media Has Been Empowering Terrorism, And What The People Should Do About It

This is a recent headline by Vanguard, one of the most established national newspapers in Nigeria.

The headline refers to an incident in which - in Vanguard’s own reporting - “no fewer than 28 persons” were killed in a string of attacks that swept across 3 of Nigeria’s 36 states in one day!

Not only that the attacks were coordinated across such an expansive span, some of the most heinous acts were also reported to have been committed by the attackers. For example, in the exact words of Vanguard, “a pregnant woman was among 20 persons killed during a farmers/herders’ clash that left scores wounded, houses, motorcycles, and a police operational vehicle set ablaze in Nasarawa LGA of Nasarawa State”.

This Is A Typical Example Of How The Mainstream Nigerian Media Empowers Terrorism 

The Nigerian media's reporting on terrorist activities, particularly those perpetrated by the Fulani militia, has been grossly inadequate. Despite being designated as the 4th most deadly terror organization globally by the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), most Nigerian media outlets persist in downplaying the militia's atrocities.

For instance, the media's tendency to refer to Fulani militia's numberless unprovoked attacks on unarmed Nigerians as "farmer-herder clashes" as seen in the above Vanguard report, is a gross misrepresentation of the facts. This wrong labeling obscures the true nature of these attacks, which are often brutal and targeted as you can see in the above report by a popular media house.

If this was an instance of farmers/herders' clash as the report called it, how come a police operational vehicle was burnt? Was the police fighting on the side of the farmers or the herders? Also, was it likely that a pregnant woman would be involved in a clash between farmers and herders?

Another troubling trend is the media's practice of referring to terrorists as "bandits." This term trivializes the severity of their crimes and creates a false narrative that these individuals are merely common criminals rather than calculated terrorists.

The persistence of these media misrepresentations, despite efforts to correct them, raises concerns about the media's complicity in empowering terrorism. For example, last year, 10 farmers in Niger State were reported to have been beheaded by terrorists alongside a Chinese national. Following Sahara Reporters’ labelling of the incident as a case of banditry, we started a campaign tagged #CallATerroristATerrorist. As a part of the campaign, we wrote an open letter to the Nigerian media giving reasons why the wrong labelling should stop.

Unfortunately, the trend has persisted, which strongly indicates the existence of some high-level conspiracy. Not only that the global 4th deadliest terror cell has never been proscribed in Nigeria where it is based, there is obviously a media conspiracy to hide their atrocity through the invention of these terms and more. For example, by calling them the amorphous name "bandit", GTI no longer has a name with which to proscribe them.

Why Do We Consider These Media Misrepresentations Such A Serious Matter?

The Nigerian media's mislabeling of terrorism has severe consequences such as the following:

• It obscures the truth, hindering effective counter-terrorism efforts

• It fosters a culture of impunity, emboldening perpetrators and getting them to evade due condemnation from across the world.

• It therefore denies victims and their families justice and closure

• It ultimately undermines national security and stability

A Call to Action

It is imperative that the Nigerian media adopts a more responsible and accurate approach to reporting on terrorism. This includes:

• Using precise language to describe terrorist acts and perpetrators

• Avoiding euphemisms that downplay the severity of these crimes

• Providing context and background information on terrorist groups

• Holding those in power accountable for their response to terrorism

But none of these would happen until the Nigerian masses take certain actions. One may even be right to hold that the reason these trends persist is because the people themselves allow them. To illustrate this a bit, consider that an X post we made to introduce our #CallATerroristATerrorist Campaign and the accompanying letter to the Nigerian media got over 3,700 views but got only 3 reshares as you can see here👇

Could this be interpreted to mean that beyond overwhelming majority of Nigerians don't care that they are systematically getting depleted by a terror cell that keeps getting bolder by the day because little is done to counter it? Or, is it that most of those who read the letter we wrote to the Nigerian media couldn't appreciate the severity of the situation? Or, can it be said that such a huge percentage of Nigerians who saw the post on X were too lazy to read the short letter that focused on an issue of their own life and death?!?

The answers to the above questions are certainly difficult to arrive at. Nevertheless, we try again. Please, let's all join to ask our media houses to always tell the whole truth about terrorism in Nigeria. Your support of this call could be as simple as resharing this message to let it get the attention it deserves. Thank you.