NUJ president appeals to Boko Haram 'Over threat against media houses

The president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mallam Garba Muham-med, on Thursday, in Abuja, begged the Jamatu Ahlis sunnah lil daawati wal jihad, otherwise known as the Boko Haram sect, to rescind its decision to carry out more attacks against media houses in the country.He described the attacks, as well as fresh threats from the group against media houses and their employees as one that further placed the practice of journalism in a more precarious position.Some media houses had come under attack both in Abuja and Kaduna State, with the sect threatening that Tribune, Punch, Daily Sun, Vanguard, The Guardian, Nation and National Accord came under the second group it would attack soon.Speaking at this year's World Press Freedom Day celebration at Bolingo Hotels, Abuja, the NUJ president described the decision to attack more media houses in the country as one that was not in the interest of the nation.'As we observe World's Press Freedom Day today, we appeal to the sect to rescind this decision which is not in the interest of this nation,' he said.Mallam Garba, who recalled the April 26 attack on ThisDay and other newspaper houses, lamented that some journalists had died in the course of doing their job.He said the watchdog role of journalists required the news media to provide a check on sectors of society, including leaders within the private and public domains.
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