DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER REPORTS ON PIPELINE VANDALISM

Scholarly works on pipeline vandalism have paid extensive attention to empirical questions of causes and consequences. But there remains a dearth studies the representation acts in newspapers, which is necessary for evaluating what message about problem being disseminated citizens how that could contribute resolving or sustaining it. This paper examines identity construction critical social actors Nigerian newspaper reports vandalism. Sixteen –news samples were purposively selected from three newspapers: The Tide, New Waves, Guardian published between 2015 2019. Theoretically, study anchored combination Fina’s (2011) process van Dijk’s (1995, 2006a, 2006b) in-group/out-group description. analysis involved accounting deployment group self-schemata (van Dijk, 1995, 2005) ideological strategies 2006) realising processes indexing, positioning, local occasioning established by Fina (2011). finds through media ascription actors’ positive-self description news reports, each major stakeholders conflict assumes an innocence responsible entity while shifting blame others. It concludes therefore this be difficulty ending conflict.