Nigeria journalists plans to boycott govt over unrest
JOS, NIGERIA: Journalists in a restive state in central Nigeria said on Monday [14 May 2012] they would halt coverage of government activities in protest at the failure of the authorities to stop years of deadly violence.
The journalists in Plateau State also accused the state governor Jonah Jang of failing to protect journalists from threats and attacks, at an emergency meeting in the state capital Jos.
"The journalists... expressed disgust at the experience of continually counting corpses and visiting grave sites of victims of the endless sectarian violence in Jos and its environs," they said in a statement. They called for a boycott of all government activities in the crisis-prone state, to protect their own lives and those of their families.
Government spokesman Pam Ayuba said everything was being done to try to end the violence in the state. "There is a serious security challenge in the state, especially in Jos. The government will try its best to arrest the situation and secure lives and property, including those of journalists," he added.
Jos and its environs have witnessed several deadly cycles of sectarian and communal clashes that have claimed thousands of lives in recent years. Last week, suspected Muslim herdsmen hacked and shot to death seven sleeping family members in a Christian village near Jos, which lies in the middle belt region dividing the mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south of Africa's most populous nation.
"The journalists... expressed disgust at the experience of continually counting corpses and visiting grave sites of victims of the endless sectarian violence in Jos and its environs," they said in a statement. They called for a boycott of all government activities in the crisis-prone state, to protect their own lives and those of their families.
Government spokesman Pam Ayuba said everything was being done to try to end the violence in the state. "There is a serious security challenge in the state, especially in Jos. The government will try its best to arrest the situation and secure lives and property, including those of journalists," he added.
Jos and its environs have witnessed several deadly cycles of sectarian and communal clashes that have claimed thousands of lives in recent years. Last week, suspected Muslim herdsmen hacked and shot to death seven sleeping family members in a Christian village near Jos, which lies in the middle belt region dividing the mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south of Africa's most populous nation.
Culled from BizCommunity
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