The Commander-General of the Jigawa State Hisba Board, Muhammad Bashir, has urged media professionals and the board’s social media handlers to prioritise campaigns against indecency and social vices.
Bashir gave the charge amid growing concerns over moral decay, particularly among youths, during a one-day in-house sensitisation workshop for the board’s zonal social media officers at its headquarters in Dutse on Tuesday.
PUNCH Online gathered that the workshop was organised by the board’s Media Unit to strengthen the capacity of officers responsible for managing its social media platforms.
Speaking at the event, Bashir said the progress and success of the Jigawa Hisba Command depended on accurate and reliable reports of its activities, describing the media as a watchdog of society.
He said the board would provide the media unit with the necessary support to discharge its responsibilities as the board’s image maker.
Represented by his personal assistant, Muddasir Muhammad, the commander-general warned that Hisba-related content must be handled with care, noting that careless postings could spread misinformation and cause disaffection in society.
Bashir said, “Counselling against indecency and social vices should always be the priority of Hisba staff, and both conventional and social media handlers should focus on.”
He explained that the board’s core mandate was moral guidance and reformation, not merely enforcement.
The commander-general expressed hope that the sensitisation and capacity-building workshop would benefit both the participants and the board.
He added, “This training will help you to promote the good image of Hisbah and to avoid mistakes on social media.”
Earlier, the board’s Public Relations Officer, Dauda Hadejia, said the workshop was organised to enlighten zonal social media officers about their responsibilities.
Hadejia warned against unauthorised postings of news, videos and audio content on the board’s social media platforms.
He said, “Henceforth, no Zonal or Local Government Hisbah Command should post Hisba news, video or audio on any platform without permission.”
The PRO said a central social media platform would be established at the board’s headquarters to prevent unauthorised publications.
He said, “We will create a central platform at Headquarters. All news must be verified before posting to save the image of Jigawa Hisbah.”
The workshop facilitator, Engineer Adamu Kore, trained participants on how to perform their duties in line with modern global social media practices.
Kore urged the participants to use social media to promote and protect the image of the Jigawa Hisba Board through responsible and ethical reporting.
He said the training would help the board project its activities positively and counter misinformation in the digital space.