Terms of Service

Welcome to Community Reporters.

These Terms of Service govern your access to and use of the Community Reporters website, including its articles, news reports, videos, photographs, comments, features and other content.

Community Reporters is operated by Smartking Integrated Services Limited.

Website: https://communityreporters.ng

By accessing or using this website, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree with these Terms, please do not use the website.

1. About Community Reporters

Community Reporters is a digital news and media platform providing news reports, features, opinions, interviews, photographs, videos and other information covering community, political, social, business, entertainment and other matters of public interest.

Our content is provided primarily for general information, news and editorial purposes.

2. Acceptance of These Terms

By accessing, browsing or using Community Reporters, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.

If you use the website on behalf of an organisation or another person, you confirm that you have the authority to accept these Terms on their behalf.

We may update these Terms from time to time. Your continued use of the website after changes are published constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

3. Use of the Website

You agree to use Community Reporters only for lawful purposes and in a manner that does not:

Violate any applicable law or regulation;
Infringe the rights of another person;
Interfere with the operation or security of the website;
Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the website;
Introduce viruses, malware or other harmful code;
Scrape, copy or systematically collect website content without permission;
Impersonate another person or organisation;
Use the website to distribute spam or fraudulent material; or
Abuse, threaten, harass or defame other users, journalists, contributors or members of the Community Reporters team.

We reserve the right to restrict or terminate access where we reasonably believe these Terms have been violated.

4. News and Editorial Content

Community Reporters makes reasonable efforts to publish information that is accurate, relevant and responsibly reported.

However, news and information can change rapidly, and we do not guarantee that every article, report, statistic, statement, photograph, video or other item of content will always be complete, current or error-free.

Editorial content may include:

News reports;
Breaking-news updates;
Opinions and commentary;
Interviews;
Analysis;
User-submitted material;
Information obtained from third-party sources; and
Reports attributed to individuals, organisations or other media outlets.

The publication of a statement or allegation does not necessarily mean that Community Reporters endorses or independently verifies every statement contained in the material.

Where appropriate, we may correct, update, amend or remove content.

5. No Professional Advice

Information published on Community Reporters is generally provided for informational and editorial purposes.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, our content should not be treated as professional legal, medical, financial, investment, tax or other professional advice.

You should seek appropriate professional advice before making decisions based on information published on our website.

6. Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise stated, the Community Reporters website and its original content are owned by, licensed to, or used with permission by Community Reporters or Smartking Integrated Services Limited.

This may include:

Website design and layout;
Logos and branding;
Original articles;
Editorial materials;
Graphics;
Photographs;
Videos;
Audio;
Text;
Software and website functionality.

These materials may be protected by copyright, trademark and other applicable intellectual-property laws.

You may access and share links to our publicly available content for legitimate personal, educational or informational purposes, provided that you do not misrepresent the source or remove applicable attribution.

7. Reproduction and Republishing

You may not reproduce, republish, commercially exploit, substantially copy, modify, distribute or publicly display Community Reporters content without appropriate permission or a lawful basis.

Where limited quotation or republication is permitted by applicable law, appropriate attribution should be provided.

Permission may be required for commercial use, substantial reproduction, syndication, republication or other uses beyond ordinary sharing.

Requests concerning reproduction or licensing of our content may be submitted through our Contact page.

8. Third-Party Content

Community Reporters may publish or display content originating from third parties, including press releases, public statements, social-media posts, photographs, videos, links and other materials.

We do not necessarily endorse every statement, opinion or claim contained in third-party content.

Where appropriate, third-party material may be attributed to its original source.

Third-party websites and services linked to or embedded on Community Reporters are governed by their own terms and privacy policies.

9. YouTube and Embedded Content

Community Reporters may embed or link to videos hosted on platforms such as YouTube.

When you interact with embedded or linked third-party content, the third party may collect information about your activity according to its own terms and privacy policy.

Community Reporters does not control the privacy practices, availability or functionality of third-party platforms.

10. User Comments and Submissions

Where comments or other user submissions are enabled, you are responsible for the content you submit.

You must not submit content that:

Is unlawful;
Is fraudulent or deliberately misleading;
Defames or unlawfully harms another person;
Contains threats or harassment;
Promotes violence or criminal activity;
Infringes copyright, trademark, privacy or other rights;
Contains malicious software;
Contains spam or unsolicited advertising;
Contains another person’s private or confidential information without lawful authority; or
Violates any applicable law.

You retain ownership of content you lawfully own and submit, but by submitting content for publication you grant Community Reporters a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, publish, display, distribute and reasonably adapt that content for the purposes of operating, promoting and developing our platform, subject to applicable law.

We reserve the right to moderate, edit, reject or remove submissions at our discretion.

11. Accuracy of User Submissions

You are responsible for ensuring that information you submit to Community Reporters is accurate to the best of your knowledge and that you have the necessary rights or permissions to submit it.

Do not submit confidential information unless you are authorised to disclose it.

Community Reporters is not responsible for statements, opinions or information submitted by users.

12. News Tips and Confidential Information

Community Reporters may receive news tips, documents, photographs, videos and other information from members of the public.

Submitting information does not guarantee that it will be published.

We may investigate, verify, edit or decline to publish submitted material.

If you believe information is confidential, sensitive or subject to restrictions, clearly identify that when submitting it. However, you should not assume that sending information to Community Reporters automatically creates a confidential or journalist-source relationship.

13. Advertising and Sponsored Content

Community Reporters may display advertising, sponsored content, promotional material or other commercial communications.

Sponsored or promotional content may be identified where appropriate.

The presence of an advertisement or sponsored material does not necessarily constitute an endorsement or guarantee by Community Reporters of the advertiser, product or service.

14. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites.

These links are provided for convenience, information or editorial purposes.

Community Reporters does not control and is not responsible for:

The content of third-party websites;
Their availability;
Their security;
Their privacy practices; or
Their terms and conditions.

You access third-party websites at your own risk.

15. Website Availability

We aim to keep Community Reporters available and functioning properly, but we do not guarantee that the website will always be:

Available;
Uninterrupted;
Secure;
Free from errors;
Free from viruses or harmful components; or
Compatible with every device or browser.

We may temporarily suspend, modify or discontinue any part of the website without prior notice where reasonably necessary.

16. Website Security

You must not attempt to compromise, disrupt or interfere with the security or proper operation of Community Reporters.

This includes attempting to:

Access restricted areas without authorisation;
Circumvent security measures;
Introduce malicious code;
Conduct denial-of-service attacks;
Scan or probe the website for vulnerabilities without authorisation; or
Obtain another person’s account or login credentials.

Unauthorised activity may result in restriction of access and may be reported to appropriate authorities where required or appropriate.

17. Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Community Reporters and Smartking Integrated Services Limited shall not be liable for losses or damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, the website or reliance on information published on the website.

This includes, where permitted by law, indirect, incidental, consequential or economic losses.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where such exclusion or limitation is prohibited by applicable law.

18. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Community Reporters, Smartking Integrated Services Limited, its directors, employees, contributors and representatives from claims, losses, liabilities, damages and reasonable expenses arising from:

Your unlawful use of the website;
Your violation of these Terms;
Your infringement of another person’s rights; or
Content you submit to the website.

19. Privacy

Your use of Community Reporters is also subject to our Privacy Policy.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, protect and process personal information.

By using the website, you acknowledge that you have had the opportunity to review our Privacy Policy.

20. Copyright Complaints

If you believe that material published on Community Reporters infringes your copyright or other intellectual-property rights, please contact us with sufficient information to allow us to investigate the complaint.

Where appropriate, we may review, remove, correct or restrict access to the disputed material.

False or deliberately misleading copyright complaints may have legal consequences.

21. Right to Remove or Modify Content

Community Reporters reserves the right to edit, correct, update, suspend, restrict or remove any article, comment, photograph, video, account, submission or other content where we consider it necessary or appropriate.

This may include circumstances involving:

Legal requirements;
Copyright or intellectual-property concerns;
Privacy concerns;
Defamation or other legal risks;
Inaccurate or misleading information;
Security concerns;
Abuse or harassment;
Spam; or
Violation of these Terms.

22. Termination or Restriction of Access

We may restrict or terminate your access to Community Reporters if you violate these Terms, engage in unlawful activity, interfere with the website or create a security or legal risk.

You may stop using the website at any time.

Provisions that by their nature should continue after termination, including intellectual-property rights, limitations of liability and indemnification provisions, may continue to apply.

23. Governing Law

These Terms of Service shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, subject to applicable legal requirements.

Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of Community Reporters shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the appropriate courts in Nigeria.

24. Changes to These Terms

We may revise these Terms of Service from time to time.

When changes are made, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.

You should review this page periodically.

Your continued use of Community Reporters after revised Terms are published constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms, to the extent permitted by law.

25. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms of Service, copyright, content, user submissions or any other matter concerning Community Reporters, please contact us through the official contact information published on our website.

Community Reporters

Operated by: Smartking Integrated Services Limited