By Eze Adiuku
When Comrade Alhassan Yahya Abdullahi was elected National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in November 2024, he made a promise — to build bridges between the press and the institutions that shape national life. On Thursday in Abuja, he delivered on it.
Abdullahi opened the NUJ’s inaugural National Security Summit, jointly organised with the Department of State Services, telling delegates that the gathering was the direct product of that commitment.
“I firmly believed then, as I do now, that meaningful dialogue and collaboration between the media and security agencies are essential for deepening democracy and promoting national unity,” he said.
The summit, themed “Media and Security Agencies as Partners in Nation Building,” drew security chiefs, policymakers, media executives and academics for what Abdullahi described as a long-overdue national conversation on shared responsibility for the country’s security.
He argued that Nigeria’s mounting threats — ranging from terrorism, banditry and kidnapping to cybercrime and violent extremism — could not be left to security agencies alone, and that the media had a constitutional duty to contribute through accurate, responsible reporting.
Abdullahi singled out DSS Director-General Mr. Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi for commendation, crediting his openness to dialogue as pivotal in making the summit possible.
He also acknowledged the presence of the Minister of Information and National Orientation, who chaired the occasion.
A keynote presentation was made by Professor Okey Okechukwu of Development SPECS Academy on the media’s strategic role in military operations and national development as the intellectual centrepiece of the day’s proceedings.
