CJID Trains Gombe University Students on Best Journalism Practices

The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has concluded a four-day training with university students in Gombe state.

The training was held at the Broadcasting Complex in the Federal University Kashere (FUK) from Monday 20th to  23rd May 2024. With 45 participants trained on evidence-based and ethical reporting, students and staff of the school said such training was the first of its kind in the university.

CJID deployed seasoned journalists and media practitioners from Dubawa, Media Masters Academy and HumAngle to train the university students on best practices in journalism.

Kemi Busari, the Editor of Dubawa, the fact-checking subsidiary of the CJID, took the students through investigative reporting techniques; fact-checking and verification and the art of feature writing.  

The students also received top-notch training from Ibrahim Adeyemi, the Deputy Investigations Editor at HumAngle, a Nigerian conflict and terrorism reporting newsroom.

Ibrahim, a former president of the Nigeria Union of Campus Journalists (NUCJ), shared his experience with the students, teaching them the hacks of storytelling for journalistic purposes; hyperlocal journalism; data mining for storytelling, etc.

“As students, your university is your first community because you spend most of your time here,” Ibrahim charged the students. “You have the social responsibility to report happenings on your campus to advance your society for good.”

On the final day of the training, members of the CJID paid a courtesy visit to the office of Vice Chancellor, Prof. Umaru Pate. Speaking on behalf of the team,  Busola Ajibola, the Deputy Director of the Journalism Programme at the CJID, said they have so far trained students in over 40 higher institutions across West African countries, including Gambia and Sierra Leone.

Busola appreciated the school management for allowing the team to train the students and expressed her satisfaction with the level of cooperation they received from the students. On behalf of the CJID, she also donated some knowledge products to the university’s library.

Prof. Santaya Larit Kela, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic represented the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Umaru Pate, during the meeting with the CJID team. He considered CJID’s visit to the school a remarkable move that would help equip the student journalists with practical journalism.

Jamila Hussaini, a Mass Communication lecturer at FUK, who spoke on behalf of the department, thanked the CJID team for finding them worthy of such eye-opening training.

“We from the faculty level down to the department, thank you for the successful training; we do hope this relationship will continue,” she said.

Founded in 2014, the CJID is a non-governmental organisation in Nigeria. Initially known as the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), the centre leads in investigative journalism, innovation, open data, verification, promotion of the welfare and safety of journalists, election observation and the freedom of information.