National Security Coordinator, COP Osman Abdul-Razak, has described Ghana’s information space as an important part of the country’s national security perimeter, alongside its borders, territorial waters and physical security installations.
He said responsible journalism plays a critical role in protecting Ghana’s democracy and strengthening national security, stressing that the media must be recognised as an important partner in preventive security.
COP Abdul-Razak made the remarks while delivering the keynote address at the PRINPAG Capacity-Building Workshop on Responsive National Security Reporting in Accra.
According to him, National Security must be concerned with responsible media reporting because a free and responsible press can serve as an instrument of security.
“When the press exposes corruption, it protects the public purse more than any prosecution. When it holds power accountable, it gives a lawful outlet to frustration that would otherwise reduce to violence and reduce recruitment and propaganda of extremists,” he said.
He added that truthful and responsible reporting during periods of tension could help calm the nation and prevent misinformation from escalating into conflict.
“When the press reports truthfully in moments of tension, it becomes the nation’s steady hand,” he noted.
COP Abdul-Razak further observed that Ghana’s democratic stability in a region that has experienced a number of military takeovers could partly be attributed to the responsible role played by the media at critical moments.
“If Ghana’s democracy remains outstanding in a region of coups, it is in no small measure because at decisive moments the press has chosen responsibility,” he stated.
He stressed that the workshop was not intended for National Security to lecture journalists but rather to create an opportunity for both institutions to learn from each other.
“We have not come to teach. We have come to learn from each other,” he told members of the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG).
He urged PRINPAG members to develop practical and meaningful proposals on how the media and security institutions can work together while safeguarding the principles of press freedom and responsible journalism.
