The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has not been selective in its investigation of crime suspects, the commission’s chairman, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, has said.
Lamorde stated this at a workshop on economic and financial crime reporting, organised for media practitioners on Monday in Abuja.
According to him, the notion that the commission is selective in investigating persons suspected of committing economic crimes is unfortunate.
“That only those who have fallen out of favour with the powers that be are touched by the commission, that the commission has gone to sleep are unfortunately the creation of the media.
“Even in the midst of contrary evidence, a section of the press has been so swayed by this stereotype that they are unwilling to shift their gaze,’’ he said.
Lamorde urged the media to use its investigative skills in helping the EFCC to fight corruption.
The chairman urged the media to assist the commission in sensitising the public to the ills of corruption and economic crimes.
Lamorde said that the media’s potential to inform and educate the people was crucial.
“The commission cannot win the war against corruption without the support of the people.’’
An editor with the Guardian Newspaper, Mr Martins Oloja, who is also a resource person, urged media men to always study the environment they report for.
In a paper entitled “Financial and Economic Crime Reporting: Separating Facts from Fiction’’, Oloja urged journalists to always verify their news materials before publishing.
“Journalism is practised under the law everywhere, including Nigeria where Section 22 of the 1999 constitution as amended guarantees it.
“It is that section that gives power to the news media to monitor governance, to get authorities at all levels to account to the people.
“Reporting corruption in Nigeria, journalists must go the extra miles in the search of facts and figures, and must avoid fiction in the reporting,’’ he said.
In a paper entitled “Ethical Journalism and Reporting Economic and Financial Crimes: Realities, Challenges and Ideals’’, the Group Managing Director, Leadership Newspaper, Mr Azubuike Ishiekwene, urged journalists to always balance their reports.
According to him, the standard conducts expected of journalist are fairness, objective, balance and accuracy.
He expressed the need for journalist to be aware of the laws regulating slander, libel and defamation in their daily reporting.
“Journalists are to be sensitive in their reporting, individual right should be recognised when they are giving out information; suspect should be treated innocent until the law proves the contrary,” he said.
A former Senior Associate Editor, Tell Magazine, Mr Dele Agekameh, called journalists to always work more on investigative reporting than the conventional reporting.
He advised media men to always do follow-ups on whatever news they got from the anti-graft agencies.
“They should imbibe the principle of integrity in all their reports.’’
