Acting inspector-general of police, Muhammed Dikko Abubakar, has urged the press to avoid giving prominence to criminals in the interest of national security.
Abubakar, who made the call yesterday during a re-evaluation visit to the Rivers State police command said, “We should not give prominence to criminals who attack banks, police stations and individuals and rob them of their property. I think we should be mindful of how we manage security matters.
“It is important for you to educate people and tell them what has happened, but at the same time there are security matters that you should not take to pages of newspapers.”
The police boss lamented that Nigeria is the only country where dead bodies are displaced on pages of newspapers and the television screen.
“This is the only country in the world where you see dead bodies on the pages of newspapers or the television. Whatever you want to report, be mindful of the national security of Nigeria.
“The media must know that we have no other country than Nigeria. So what you report should equally be of very great importance to the country. The national security of Nigeria should be very important to all of us,” he said.
Commenting on the recent attack on the offices of ThisDay newspapers in Abuja and Kaduna, the police chief said he was not aware that Boko Haram claimed responsibility, pointing out that there had been great improvement in the fight against terrorism since he took over as the acting inspector-general of police.
He further explained that he was in Rivers State to assess and re-evaluate the performance of the police command and meet with stakeholders on how best to build a people-friendly and efficient police that would overcome current security challenges.
Also speaking, the Rivers State deputy governor, Mr. Tele Ikuru, who received the acting inspector-general on behalf of the governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, charged the police to adopt a different strategy in tackling insecurity.
Ikuru said, “We must do things differently; the game has changed and we must also change our strategy. The criminals have moved on and we cannot keep doing the same thing all the time and expect to achieve different results.
“I will recommend the retraining of an average policeman, providing equipment and motivating them to ensure that they do not only perform their responsibilities; they should also be happy doing their jobs.”