‘Defence reforms needed for accountability’

Precious Igbonwelundu

CIVIL Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has called for policy reforms in the Defence sector to improve transparency and accountability.

Programme Manager of CISLAC Salaudeen Hashim addressed reporters after a one-day training on defence accountability reporting.

The training, which was organised in collaboration with Transparency International (TI) and support from Department for International Development (DFID), focused on ways the media can probe the Defence sector to expose corruption without jeopardising national security.

Ashir noted that laws, such as the Official Secrets Act were shrinking media space and encouraging corruption, while some behavioural practices of Defence spokespersons were creating bottlenecks in the institution’s relationship with the civilian population.

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He urged the media to ensure their reports were informative and constructive to ensure that every party within the sector was fairly represented.

“The media is a worthy ally in the campaign to achieve an accountable and transparent Defence sector. If we must achieve a reform that is people-centred, we believe the media will be a key partner in helping us achieve a desired result.

“What we have done here today is to put media individuals and personnel together to interact and equip them with adequate information that can help make their job better. The information, we believe, will help in ensuring that we secure the kind of accountability and modern military that we want to have.”