The Federal Government has warned the media to thread softly over security issues in the country.
Inspite of the right to freedom of expression, the Presidency urged the media to strike a balance between openness and national security.
    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, reads “In the midst of the debate over the right to freedom of expression and the government’s efforts to ensure that the digital space and the mass media generally do not become a playground for terrorism and destabilization, security agencies in the country have given assurances that they would maintain a balance between openness and national security.
“They have, however, called on the nation’s media owners and practitioners to walk the fine balance between openness on one hand and national security on the other.
     According to him, the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Lawal Daura, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, at an interactive meeting with owners and decision makers in the media at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja on Tuesday, also gave assurances that the security situation in the country was within the control of the government.
    The media, he said, can helped the government by reducing sensation from their daily coverage.
In their own assessment, “our state of national security is not as bad as it is painted by the media.”
In seeking the support from the media towards the achievement of security for everyone, the heads of the agencies emphasized that sharing and coordination among security agencies and the media is essential to counter the ever-changing threats faced by the nation.