Centre task journalists to engage in tracking illicit financial flow.
The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), in collaboration with Touchlight Nigeria has called on journalists to engage in tracking Illicit Financial Flow (IFF) through their reportage.
Mr Mboho Eno, the Deputy Director, CJID, made the call at a one-day workshop on illicit financial flow organised for investigative journalists in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the workshop was organised for journalists across different media organisations.
Eno said that journalists had a crucial role to play in tracking IFF in Nigeria because they “bring to light issues that are hidden and unknown to the public’’.
“It is necessary to bring journalists together in order to increase the conversation around the world concerning illicit financial flow.
“Also report from international community indicates that Nigeria is becoming a transit point for illicit financial flows.
“So we think it is something that needs to be discussed within the media sphere for the sake of our country, this training is very important so that journalists can maintain the momentum,” Eno said.
Eno said that with proper financial channeling, the government could make more money without the need of IFF and this would also translate to better life for Nigerians.
“We are hoping that journalists will push this story to the society to create awareness that IFF is wrong.
“Journalists should also sustain the conversation about illicit financial flow and in-country investment without having to short change the system.
“When people try to short-change the system, less resources are available for circulation, less social infrastructure are available and this makes the country to become poorer,” he said.
Eno, while commending journalists for the job they had done so far, also encouraged them to do more in their reportage on illicit financial flow.
Mr Musikilu Mojeed, the Editor-in-Chief, Premium Times in his presentation on Accountability Journalism as an approach to tracking IFF said “accountability is important in reporting IFF’’.
According to him, accountability journalism includes in-depth fact-checking of political speech and digital data in order to reveal what is going on in every aspect of the country.
“Journalists need to go in-depth when writing reports on illicit financial flow because it is a very important issue that confronts the country.
“The major objective of the training is to increase public reporting of those involved in IFF and eradicating it,” he said.