Abdussamad Yahya Sufi
Qosim Suleiman training students on journalism ethics
ABU students were trained on journalism ethics, gender-sensitive reporting and investigative journalism at the two-day CJID Next-Gen Campus Reporter Clinic in Zaria on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026.
The first session was on Journalism Ethics and the Essentials of News Reporting, led by Qosim Suleiman, Editor of Campus Reporter. He defined ethics as the principles that guide journalists in distinguishing right from wrong.
He began with a scenario in which a roommate claims the vice-chancellor has been suspended, to accentuate the need for verification before publication. He illustrated ethical dilemmas with the 1993 photograph of "The Vulture and the Little Girl" by a South African photojournalist Kevin Carter, which showed a severely malnourished child collapse as a hooded vulture waited nearby. Sold to The New York Times on 26 March 1993, the image led to hundreds of inquiries about the child's fate and global criticism of Carter.
Without ethics, he said, misinformation spreads, innocent people become harmed and public trust lost. "People trust journalists not because journalists are perfect," he said, "they trust journalists because journalists try to be fair."
He listed the essentials of ethical reporting as accuracy, verification of names, dates, figures and quotes, balanced coverage, respect for privacy, transparency over sources, and avoidance of plagiarism and fabrication, including AI fabrication.
He cited the Society of Professional Journalists Code and the Nigerian Press Council Code, which cover public interest, non-discrimination, protection of minors, editorial independence and accuracy. He said objectivity means allowing evidence to lead the story, fairness means giving all parties a right of reply, and clarity requires precision.
The second session, on Integrating Gender and Inclusivity Perspectives, was led by Ms Ajibola. She opened with a teaser about Mr Idris who meets an old school friend, now an engineer, who introduces his daughter Nancy. When Mr Idris says, "Hello Nancy, you not only have your mother's name but also her brown eyes," the answer that the engineer is Nancy's mother exposes gender assumptions.
Busola Ajibola on gender and inclusive reporting
She distinguished sex as biological and universal from gender as socially constructed and variable. In many societies, she said, men are expected to be strong and unemotional, while women are expected to be fragile and domestic. Such expectations, she said, shape whose stories are told and whose voices are heard.
She warned against familial framing such as "Wife of Mr Tunji Bello appointed VC of Lagos State University", biological tropes such as "This grandmother will become new boss of WTO", and body derogation such as "Survivor's vagina was ruptured". On disability, she said "an unfortunate crippled woman was rescued from a fire" is inappropriate, while "a woman with a disability was rescued" is accurate.
She urged reporters to integrate gender analysis into all reporting, including asking whether pregnant women can access healthcare during floods, whether women face sexual violence in shelters, whether persons with disabilities can access relief, and whether women are represented in relief committees. She also reiterated protecting children's identities.
After a tea break, Silas Jonathan, Digital Investigations Manager at DARC, CJID, led a session on Election Disinformation, OSINT and Narrative Monitoring with live verification demonstrations.
Silas Jonathan on disinformation and OSINT
Qosim Suleiman facilitated the final session on Introduction to Investigative Reporting. He explained the difference between news and investigative reporting, its elements, sources of story ideas and essential skills. He also introduced tools for investigations, including OpenStates Nigeria for tracking state legislatures, GovSpend for monitoring public spending, Corruption Cases for tracking corruption cases, and Google Earth for location verification.
Speaking to ABU Campus Press, Sadiya Suleiman Abdullahi, a 300-level Mass Communication student, described the training as eye-opening. "I learned that verification must come before speed and that how we frame women and persons with disabilities matters," she said.
Participants at the CJID training in ABU Zaria
The first day ended at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The clinic continues on Thursday, Nov. 5.