2019 polls: Shun sensational headlines- Justice Bozimo charges journalists

The Administrator of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Justice Rosaline Bozimo, has charged journalists to avoid sensationalism in their reporting as the country conducts its general elections in 2019.

Justice Bozimo, who gave the charge last Tuesday at the opening of a two-day workshop for judiciary correspondents in Abuja, said journalists have the constitutional responsibility to inform and enlighten the public as well as the moral burden to do so in a fair, honest and objective manner.

She said the outcomes of the political party primaries are already eliciting contestations, adding that the outcomes of the 2019 general elections will also be challenged in the courts.

“It therefore behoves on you as journalists to be fair and objective, just and honest, as well as professional in both your reportage and numerous commentaries on these contending issues that have the ability to shape the destiny of our country,” she said.

In his remark, the chairman, National Association of Judicial Correspondents (NAJUC), Abuja chapter, Barr. Tunde Oyesina, appealed to the Federal Government to increase the allocation to the judiciary and ensure early release of the funds as the judiciary remains the pillar of Nigeria’s democracy.

He also called for the appointment of more judges to assist the judiciary cope with the litigations that may arise from the 2019 general elections with ongoing pre-election matters that are stretching the courts.