Workshops Equip Nigerian Journalists with Safety and Security Training

In response to growing threats against press freedom and the safety of media workers, several organizations in Nigeria have launched training programs aimed at equipping journalists with tools to navigate hostile environments. This April, three major initiatives kicked off in different parts of the country, targeting early-career and regional reporters who often face the highest risks.

In Abuja, the HumAngle Foundation began its Advancing Peace and Security in the Lake Chad Basin workshop, focused on strengthening conflict-sensitive reporting. Journalists participating in the program are learning how to safely cover violence, extremism, and humanitarian issues across northern Nigeria and neighboring regions. According to HumAngle, the training is part of a broader effort to ensure that local reporters have both the knowledge and protection necessary to report on security matters without endangering themselves or their sources.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has opened applications for its Holistic Security Training program. This initiative aims to address not only physical and digital threats but also the psychological toll of journalism under pressure. Trainees will receive guidance on how to handle surveillance, online harassment, and trauma — a reflection of the increasingly complex threats facing journalists in Nigeria. The program is especially timely given the rise in cyberattacks and doxxing against investigative reporters.

In Kebbi State, Common Ground Journalism, another security-focused program, commenced with a focus on journalists operating in rural and conflict-prone areas. The workshop brings together participants from northwestern Nigeria and trains them on risk assessment, situational awareness, and community engagement. Organizers say the region’s unique security challenges — including banditry, insurgency, and intercommunal violence — require targeted approaches to journalist safety.

These workshops reflect an increasing awareness that journalists in Nigeria are frontline workers, particularly in times of conflict and political instability. With the country’s press freedom environment ranked among the most dangerous in Africa, these programs mark a critical step toward protecting the rights and safety of media practitioners — and by extension, the public’s right to know.