By Joy Odor, Abuja
The Minister of Defence (MOD), Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has vowed to step up Nigeria’s fight against disinformation and fake news, warning that false narratives are distorting the country’s image and threatening national security.
Badaru made the remarks in Abuja after he was honoured with the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Nigeria (DICAN) Award of Excellence on Strategic Security Policy Formulation for National and Global Peace in Abuja on Tuesday.
The Defence Minister was among 15 eminent Nigerians recognised for their contributions to peace and security, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Christopher Musa, NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, and Air Peace Chairman Allen Onyema.
Commending DICAN for its maiden International Diplomatic and Security Conference themed “Nigeria’s 4Ds Foreign Policy Strategy Amidst Global Security Challenges, Strategic Misperceptions, and the Age of Disinformation”, Badaru described the initiative as “highly patriotic” and a timely response to Nigeria’s information security challenges.
“A lot of fake news is out there distorting the image of our country, and you (DICAN) are bent on correcting it, that is very good,” he said. “As Nigerians, we have no other country but Nigeria, and we must correct the bad image being pushed out there by unpatriotic people.”
Badaru pledged his Ministry’s continuous support for DICAN, noting that accurate reporting was crucial to strengthening national unity and protecting Nigeria’s global standing.
In his remarks, DICAN Chairman, Idehai Frederick, said the Association was determined to lead the fight against disinformation by equipping correspondents with the skills to identify foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).
He urged government, civil society, and development partners to provide capacity building, tools, and resources to strengthen the association’s work.
Idehai noted that DICAN was the first journalists’ beat association in the world to convene a diplomatic-security international conference, which attracted diplomats, security chiefs, policy experts, civil society organisations, and academics.
The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, H.E. Gautier Mignot, led the diplomatic community at the event.
The conference underscored the urgent need for collaboration between government, media, and international partners in tackling fake news and strengthening Nigeria’s democratic resilience.
