BY JULIET EKWENUGO
Kaduna
CLEEN Foundation has intensified efforts to strengthen rights-based reporting on the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) and the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in Nigeria.
The executive director of the foundation, Peter Maduoma, made this known during a two-day training on Human Rights Protection Through Adequate Coverage of the State ACJL, where he emphasised the critical role journalists play in promoting human rights protection and gender-responsive governance.
Represented by Foundation’s Finance Assistant, Christiana Lawrence, the executive director noted that although the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) was passed in 2015 and adopted by several states, its implementation remains uneven, with glaring gaps in gender-responsive governance.
He stressed that journalists remain essential partners in holding justice actors accountable and raising public awareness on human rights issues.
“Our focus over these three days is to build your capacity on human rights protection, share insights from state-level engagements on ACJL and WPS, and gather your perspectives on improving accountability in justice delivery”.
Maduoma expressed gratitude to the foundation’s researchers and funders, including the Royal Norwegian Embassy, and urged participants to actively engage, share insights and collaborate to make the workshop a success.
Earlier in his remarks, the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna State Council, Comrade Abdulgafar Alabelwe, urged journalists to leverage their platforms to amplify human rights concerns and ensure consistent coverage of ACJL and WPS issues.
He underscored the critical responsibility of the media in shaping public opinion and holding institutions accountable, saying journalists must go beyond routine reporting to provide context, analysis, and follow-up stories that expose gaps in justice delivery and gender-responsive governance.
“Our role goes beyond informing the public; we must actively contribute to reforms by spotlighting successes and challenges in the justice sector”.
The three-day workshop featured capacity-building sessions, policy brief dissemination, and practical tools to strengthen media reporting. Participants discussed strategies for engaging justice actors, promoting gender equity, and enhancing ethical standards in media coverage.
The training forms part of CLEEN Foundation’s project titled Strengthening Rights-Based Approach to ACJA Frameworks and Advancing Women, Peace, and Security in Nigeria, which has so far conducted baseline assessments, strengthened stakeholder capacity, and established state ACJL working groups alongside multi-stakeholder WPS monitoring committees.
