Responsible journalism among nation's most vital defences against disputes — National Security Coordinator urges media
Responsible journalism is one of Ghana’s most important safeguards against the escalation of chieftaincy, ethnic and communal disputes into wider security crises, National Security Coordinator, Commissioner of Police (COP) Osman Abdul-Razak, has said.
He has therefore urged journalists to make accuracy, verification and responsible reporting central to their work, particularly when covering sensitive issues that have the potential to inflame tensions and threaten national peace.
COP Abdul-Razak made the call at a three-day residential capacity-building workshop organised by the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), with support from the National Security Secretariat, to strengthen journalists’ capacity in conflict prevention and responsible security reporting.
The workshop, held in Accra under the theme “Media as a Strategic Partner in National Security”, brought together 45 editors, senior reporters, publishers and media owners from private newspapers and online media platforms.
The programme focused on equipping media practitioners with practical knowledge and skills to identify, report and help prevent conflicts, particularly those involving chieftaincy, ethnicity and other sensitive national security concerns.
Verification, fact-checking
COP Abdul-Razak said journalists had a critical role to play in preventing disputes from escalating, stressing that verification and fact-checking were essential tools in an era where misinformation could spread rapidly through social media and digital platforms.
He urged journalists to uphold the highest professional standards and independently verify information before publication, particularly when dealing with ethnic, religious and other potentially sensitive matters.
“With the current technology, verification is easy. Go online and at least Google whatever you're looking for. You will get some published works to support yours. That's all we are urging you to do.
"Therefore, responsible journalism, in my view, is among the nation's most vital defences against disputes,” the National Security Coordinator stated.
He added: “It relies on verified facts and emphasises accountability over sensationalism. This type of journalism informs without provoking or exposes wrongdoing without risking lives.”
COP Abdul-Razak further encouraged journalists to recognise the consequences their reports could have on public safety and national cohesion and to exercise sound professional judgment when covering security-related developments.
Chieftaincy, ethnic disputes
The Spokesperson to the President and Minister of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, whose address was delivered by his deputy, Shamima Muslim, said Ghana was currently dealing with about 300 chieftaincy disputes.
He cautioned that biased reporting, sensationalism and political interference could worsen otherwise manageable disputes and transform them into serious security threats.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu cited the Bawku and Konkomba-Nanumba conflicts as examples of disputes that had posed significant challenges to Ghana’s peace and security.
“When we fail on chieftaincy and ethnic flashpoints, we turn disputes into war. Ghana has over 300 chieftaincy disputes.
Most are manageable.
They become security crises when politics and media forge the matters, take sides and sensationalise headlines to fuel otherwise manageable conflicts,” Mr Kwakye Ofosu said.
He also warned that the publication of unverified information, particularly casualty figures and reports framed along ethnic lines, could deepen existing tensions and influence people towards violence.
“Think through the Konkomba-Nanumba war, today Bawku is still not a place of absolute peace and every time an online portal publishes unverified casualty figures, or uses language like Kusasis attack Mamprusis, they recruit the next fighter,” he said.
The President's Spokesperson maintained that press freedom should be regarded as an important component of national security and democratic governance rather than a threat to security.
PRINPAG training
The President of PRINPAG, David Tamakloe, said the workshop was intended to strengthen the capacity of private and online media organisations to produce accurate, responsible and professional journalism in an increasingly complex information environment.
“It forms part of efforts in strengthening the media's role as a strategic partner in promoting public awareness, national unity, democratic governance and public safety,” Mr Tamakloe explained.
He urged participants to apply the lessons from the workshop in their respective newsrooms and share the knowledge acquired with colleagues to broaden the impact of the programme.