Peace Journalism as a Model for Reportage of the Farmer–Herder Conflict in Nigeria

The farmer-herder conflict has emerged as one of the most persistent security challenges in Nigeria, and newspapers play a key role in the way in which the public is informed and reacts to the conflict. The study addressed both the reporting of facts and the influence of media framing on public perceptions and affective reactions to the crisis. This study investigates peace journalism as a model for the reporting of the farmer-herder conflict in the southwest region of Nigeria using Framing theory as a framework to analyse how media channels select and manage issues to shape the interpretation of the audience. The study used critical review methodology where newspaper reports from three newspapers, namely, The Punch, The Guardian, and Nigerian Tribune, are reviewed along with academic literature, policy documents, and reports produced in the period ranging from 2021 to 2025. The analysis investigates how well the selected newspapers adopt the principles of peace journalism, including balanced sourcing of information, conflict-sensitive framing, contextual reporting, and fostering of dialogue among conflicting parties. The results suggest that although the newspaper coverage of the conflict is common, it mostly relies on violence-oriented frames without emphasizing the underlying roots of the conflict and any peacebuilding efforts. The study concludes that peace journalism adopted as a model of reporting can produce more balanced reporting practices, encourage stakeholders to understand each other better, and facilitate the establishment of lasting peace. It suggests more training in peace journalism, increasing leadership in conflict-sensitive reporting, and establishing partnerships between media institutions and organizations engaged in peacebuilding for promoting stories that aid dialogue and bring the nation together.