By Peter Duru, Makurdi

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) West Africa has commenced a two-day capacity-building training for journalists in Benue State, aimed at strengthening fact-checking skills, verification techniques and ethical reporting standards amid rising concerns over disinformation.

Speaking at the training, Raji Olatunji, a Programme Staff with CDD West Africa, said the exercise was part of a broader intervention tagged “Strengthening Information Literacy and Social Cohesion,” designed to improve the quality of information within Nigeria’s media space.

Olatunji explained that the intervention was being implemented across four states of Benue, Kaduna, Katsina and Plateau, noting that journalists were deliberately targeted because of their critical role in shaping public perception.

“We believe that the work of journalists in the information ecosystem is very crucial, especially in this age of disinformation,” he said.

According to him, the Benue training was structured to accommodate 90 journalists over two days, with 45 participants attending each day. He described the approach as intentional, ensuring effective engagement and hands-on learning for participants.

Explaining the objectives of the programme, Olatunji said the initiative seeks to address the growing impact of misinformation and disinformation, particularly in Northern Nigeria. “If you look at the trend of events in Nigeria, especially Northern Nigeria, you will see the impact of the crisis happening in the region and how disinformation can be deployed to cause chaos,” he noted.

He stressed that strengthening journalists’ capacity in fact-checking and ethical reporting was essential because the media remains a major stakeholder in the information ecosystem. “This activity is very important because journalists are a major stakeholder in how information circulates in society,” Olatunji said.

The CDD official disclosed that the organisation conducted a community baseline assessment in Benue State before the training. He said the study, which covered three Local Government Areas, LGAs, was aimed at understanding the state’s information ecosystem down to the grassroots.

“During the exercise, we wanted to know the most trusted sources of information for people in Benue State. We realised that the media was one of the major sources of information for the people, which further justified the need to engage journalists.”

Olatunji said the outcome of the assessment reinforced the importance of equipping journalists with the tools to counter false narratives. “You can see why it is important to strengthen their capacity on fact-checking and ethical reporting,” he added.

He expressed optimism that the training would translate into more responsible journalism across the state. “What we expect going forward is that journalists will take precautions in carrying out their jobs and ensure all claims are verified before publishing,” Olatunji said.

He stressed that the goal of the training was to ensure journalists were not “used to cause chaos by disinformation actors,” but instead serve as pillars of credible information.