Director-General of the State Security Service, Mr Ekpeyong Ita has said that terrorists crave media attention in order to intimidate and instil fear into people.
He made this statement while declaring open a workshop for media professionals at the Institute for Security Services, Bwari, Abuja on Monday. Ita explained that the objective of terrorist groups was to maximize publicity for their attacks in order to have a larger-than-life reputation.
He said, “Publicity is the oxygen craved by terrorists. When they carry out attacks, they want as much publicity as possible and when the media sensationalise such an attack, the terror groups have achieved their objectives of getting wide media publicity which is aimed at intimidating and installing fear into people.”
He therefore urged journalists to avoid sensationalism as they provide information to the public.
The DG, who said many terrorist groups pursue the interests of their sponsors, noted that nobody knows the interests being pursued by Boko Haram members as they do not represent Muslims.
In his opinion, terrorists often get more attention from the media than security agencies who strive to keep the nation safe from the evil schemes of violent groups such as Boko Haram.
He added, “Acts of terrorism are excessively covered by the media while the activities of security agencies are under-covered.”
The Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority, Alhaji Musa Maiyaki, on the occasion called for a cordial working relationship between the media and security agencies