Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has called on Nigerian media organisations to cease giving excessive publicity to terrorists, bandits, and other criminal elements, warning that such coverage serves their propaganda goals and undermines national security. Speaking at a two-day National Security Summit organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in partnership with the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja on Thursday, June 18, 2026, the minister urged journalists to exercise restraint and responsibility in reporting security matters.
Idris declared that the best journalists are those who know what not to report in the interest of nation-building. “Please take these terrorists and criminals off your front pages. This is what they crave, free of charge,” he said. “Yes, we have to do our work, we have to report whatever happens, but you must know that the best reporter, the best editor, is the one who knows what not to report in the interest of nation-building.” The minister expressed sadness over what he described as the frequent prominence given to criminal activities in news reports, while the efforts and sacrifices of security personnel receive less attention. “It saddens my mind. I feel very unhappy when I see our front pages, when I see our headlines, reporting the activities of these criminals and underplaying the ones by the security agencies,” he stated, according to multiple reports from Naija News, Premium Times, Punch and New Telegraph.
Idris stressed that his appeal was not a call for censorship but for responsible journalism that considers national unity and security. “Nobody is calling for censorship. Nobody is asking the media not to do its job, but we must know that we must have a country to keep,” he said. He noted that without a secure and peaceful country, the media itself would lack an enabling environment to operate. “We must have a Nigeria to report first before we can even have a union or any other media organisation. Please, let’s have that at the back of our minds. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that this nation survives,” he added.
The minister commended the improving relationship between journalists and security agencies, particularly the DSS, noting that the NUJ had reported no cases of journalists being arrested or detained by the agency in the last one and a half years. He challenged other security agencies to maintain similar standards and expressed hope that incidents involving the detention of journalists would become a thing of the past. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening engagement between the media and security institutions through dialogue, strategic communication, capacity building and public enlightenment initiatives. The minister also said the government was working behind the scenes to roll out enhanced welfare packages for media workers to boost their morale and economic well-being. He highlighted achievements recorded under the Tinubu administration, including the neutralisation of criminal elements, the rescue of abducted victims, the dismantling of terrorist camps, and increased investments in military equipment, intelligence infrastructure and surveillance technology. He also noted that over 1.3 million Nigerian students had accessed higher education through the newly instituted National Education Loan Fund.
The National Security Summit, themed “Media and Security Agencies as Partners in Nation Building,” also featured the National Security Adviser, represented by his aide on strategic communication, Chido Onumah, who announced that the Office of the National Security Adviser is developing a National Security Strategic Communication Framework to provide a platform for structured information sharing that balances transparency with operational security. The Defence Ministry signalled plans to embed journalists with military units to enhance the accuracy and clarity of operational reporting. The summit, attended by security chiefs, academics and media executives, produced commitments from both the media and security agencies to deepen engagement, build trust and establish mechanisms for verification and responsible reporting. As Nigeria continues to grapple with multifaceted security threats, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cybercrime, misinformation and organised crime, the call for a more measured media approach reflects a growing recognition that the information war is as critical as the kinetic one.
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