By Williams ABAH
Some media experts have charged journalists in Nigeria to investigate and report violations of the rights of workers by employers of labour in the country.
Speaking at a training workshop on investigative journalism on Monday in Abuja, the Editor-in-Chief of National Record, Iduh Lawrence Onah, said issues of sexual harassment, abuse of rights of people with disabilities, and unfair labour by employers should be properly investigated by journalists.
Onah also urged media practitioners to hold government and public office holders accountable for their actions and inactions.
“It is important for the media to hold the government at all levels, public servants, private organisations and individuals in positions of authority accountable for their actions and inactions.
“The essence of the programme is beyond building the capacity of journalists, it is mainly to sharpen the professional instincts of participants in the area of investigative or accountability journalism, to enable them carry out investigations on issues affecting the nation.
“Our broad focus under the CMEDIA Project is tracking and investigating labour-related issues, including workplace sexual abuse/harassment; abuse of rights of marginalized groups by public and private entities as well as harmful environmental activities of national and multi national corporations,” he said.
While presenting a paper titled, “What should journalists investigate,” a representative of the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism, Dr Theophilus Abbah, said journalists should avoid being rubber stamps but engage in investigative issues that would correct the wrongs in society.
Abbah added that for an investigative story to add value to society, the journalists must consider the significance of the investigation, unravel the crime’s impact on the lives of the people, and have the skills and capacity to unravel crimes.
He listed fraud, conflict of interest, waste and management, murder, organized crimes, cyber crime, drug abuse, sex and related offences, and procurement fraud as some of the things journalists should investigate to put an end to all forms of crime in the society.