'Any attempt to suppress press freedom unacceptable'
THE United States Embassy in Abuja yesterday stressed the need for industry-wide engagement with media professionals to set up a structure for countering misinformation in Nigeria. The Public Affairs Counselor in the US Embassy, Mr. Adnan Siddiqi, who stated this at a two-day ''Train-the-Trainers Workshop'', on countering misinformation, co-organised by US consulate and Mythos Lab, insisted that press freedom was vital to the sustenance of Nigeria's democracy. According to Siddiqi, the training was necessitated by the many unconfirmed reports circulated in the media about the just-concluded elections and the results. He, therefore, explained that the capacity-building workshop would enhance the professionalism, institutional memory and sustainability of media practice in the country. While noting that stakeholders would not allow covert or overt attempts to muzzle journalism practice in a democracy, he maintained that the principles of good journalism practice, su...