CCS Backs Objective Security Reporting, Rejects Ethnic Bias in Crime Coverage
The Centre for Contemporary Studies (CCS), Abuja, has backed calls for objective and fact-based reporting of criminal activities, insisting that insecurity can only be effectively addressed when all offenders are held to the same standard, regardless of their ethnic, religious or political background.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the organisation expressed support for the position of security analyst and conflict reporter Zagazola Makama, stressing that criminal acts should not be excused or justified because of the identity of those involved.
The Centre said criminality should be condemned without bias, warning that selective accountability and ethnic sentiments undermine efforts to tackle insecurity across the country.
According to the statement, the recent controversy surrounding the identification of a suspect linked to the attempted attack on the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, reflects a broader challenge of inconsistent reactions to security reporting.
CCS argued that while many Nigerians demand transparency when alleged offenders belong to other communities, some oppose the same level of openness when those implicated are from their own ethnic or religious groups.
The organisation maintained that objective reporting should not be mistaken for ethnic profiling, adding that journalists and security analysts should not be intimidated into withholding verified information because it may be politically or socially uncomfortable.
It said accurate identification of perpetrators remains essential, regardless of whether those responsible belong to Fulani bandits, Berom militias, Irigwe militias, Mwaghavul militias or any other armed criminal group.
The Centre also commended security personnel for repelling the attempted attack on NIPSS and praised their continued efforts in protecting strategic national institutions despite prevailing security challenges.
CCS noted that no ethnic or religious group has a monopoly on either criminality or victimhood, stressing that millions of law-abiding Nigerians across all communities desire peace, justice and security.
The organisation urged the media, civil society groups, community leaders and the public to uphold equal standards of justice and accountability, warning against shielding criminals through ethnic, religious or political narratives.
It reaffirmed its commitment to truth, accountability and equal justice under the law, insisting that there should be no sacred cows in the fight against insecurity and that justice must remain blind to ethnicity, religion and politics.
