Controversies and condemnations have trailed Nigeria Broadcasting Commission’s fine of N5 million on Lagos based Nigeria Info 99.3 FM radio station for alleged “professional misconduct”, following its interview with a former Deputy Governor of Central Bank Nigeria, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia.

The Commission said the sanction was for a violation of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code by the Radio station in the handling of the programme, “Morning Cross Fire”, aired on August 10, 2020, between 8.30am and 9.00am. The NBC accused the station for providing its platform for the guest to promote unverifiable and inciting views that could encourage or incite to crime and lead to public disorder.

The Commission noted in a statement that the action of the radio station was in total violation of the newly amended NBC Code and directed it to pay the sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira) to serve a deterrent to other stations.

Paradoxically, the amended NBC code is still mired in controversies as the Board of the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission recently alleged that the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, single-handedly amended the broadcasting code with the NBC Board Chairman Ikra Aliyu Bilbis describing the code’s amendment as illegal. The amended code was launched in Lagos on August 4 amidst opposition by stakeholders in the industry.

But the NBC cited the amended code for its action and directed it to pay the sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira) to serve a deterrent to other stations.The NBC statement reads in part: ”The National Broadcasting Commission has noted with grave concern, the unprofessional conduct of Nigeria Info 99.3FM, Lagos, in the handling of the Programme, “Morning Cross Fire”, aired on August 10, 2020, between 8.30am and 9.00am. The station provided its platform for the guest, Dr. Mailafia Obadiah, to promote unverifiable and inciting views that could encourage or incite to crime and lead to public disorder.

”The Commission, again, wishes to reiterate that Broadcasters hold Licenses in trust for the people. Therefore, no Broadcast Station should be used, to promote personal or sectional interests at the expense of the people.
”Dr. Mailafia Obadia’s comments on the “Southern Kaduna Crisis”, were devoid of facts and by broadcasting same to the public, Nigeria Info 99.3FM, is in violation of the following sections of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code: 3.1.1 No broadcast shall encourage or incite to crime, lead to public disorder or hate, be repugnant to public feelings or contain offensive reference to any person or organization, alive or dead or generally be disrespectful to human dignity;

“3.1.2 broadcasting shall promote human dignity, therefore, hate speech is prohibited; 3.3.1 (a) “The broadcaster shall ensure that any information given in a programme, in whatever form, is accurate; 3.3.3.1(b) the Broadcaster shall ensure that all sides to any issue of public interest are equitably presented for fairness and balance; 3.11.1(a) the broadcaster shall ensure that language or scene likely to encourage or incite to crime, or lead to disorder, is not broadcast;

“3.11.1(b) No programme contains anything which amounts to subversion of constituted authority or compromises the unity or corporate existence of Nigeria as a sovereign state and 5.4.1(f) which says the Broadcaster shall not transmit divisive materials that may threaten or compromise the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a sovereign state.

”Consequent on these provisions and in line with the amendment of the 6thedition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, Nigeria Info 99.3FM Lagos, has been fined the sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira), only. ”This is expected to serve as a deterrent to all other broadcast stations in Nigeria who are quick to provide platform for subversive rhetoric and the expositions of spurious and unverifiable claims, to desist from such.

”The Commission wishes to put it on record that it will not hesitate to suspend the Broadcast Licence of broadcast stations that continue to breach the Code.”Stations are, by this statement, admonished to desist forthwith, from airing unwholesome content, or be ready to face appropriate sanctions.”

Meanwhile a deluge of criticisms and condemnations has attended the action of the NBC while the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) has also picked holes in certain sections of the amended code which do not allow for the principle of fair hearing.

In a quick reaction to the NBC fine action, the International Press Centre (IPC) expressed dismay over the imposition of a fine of N5million on the Nigeria Info 99.3FM Lagos, by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

The IPC in a statement by its Executive Director, Lanre Arogundade, faulted the NBC’s action saying it gave the impression that it was the Radio Station that put the words in the mouth of the guest and went on to impose a fine without any evidence whatsoever that the alleged statement had degraded any person or groups of persons, which would have amounted to hate speech.

“Even if a case of hate speech can be established, it is totally out of place in a democratic setting that NBC would be the one to accuse, prosecute and judge its own case against the station”, Mr. Arogundade said.

The IPC statement noted that the hefty fine represented an assault on media independence, freedom of expression and the right of citizens to know about issues of public interest and consequently, demanded the immediate reversal of the decision saying that was the only path of honour left for the NBC to follow having embarrassed itself with the unreasonable fine against the radio station.

The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) also condemned the action of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in imposing a N5 million fine on the radio station.The MRA, in a statement issued in Lagos and signed by its Programme Director, Mr. Ayode Longe said “We are seriously concerned by this latest development in Nigeria of a supposed media regulatory body taking the country down a dangerous path of official censorship by constituting itself into a legislature making criminal law and acting at the same time as an accuser, a prosecutor and the judge in its own cause. This situation is an affront to the rules of natural justice.”

The organization noted that only a week ago, on August 4, 2020, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced at the unveiling of the revised Nigerian Broadcasting Code that the Federal Government had increased the fine for hate speech from N500,000 to N5 million and a few days later, the NBC is already abusing the provision to censor a media organization without due process for a broadcast that cannot be defined as hate speech under any circumstance.

Mr. Longe said: “We are aware that the NBC is empowered to make regulations for the conduct and operations of broadcast stations in Nigeria, but it cannot usurp the legislative powers of National Assembly, the prosecutorial powers of the Executive and the judicial powers of the courts by making laws, interpreting the laws, imposing punishment and executing its judgment as it has done in this case. Such action is obscene and offensive, particularly in a democracy.”

MRA noted that it was appalling that in its haste, apparently to do the bidding of the Minister of Information and punish Nigeria Info 99.3FM, the NBC disregarded the due process provisions in its own regulations and rushed to judgment without conducting any investigation or awaiting the outcome of investigations by any other law enforcement or security agency or giving the radio station adequate time and opportunity to defend itself against the absurd charge of hate speech in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution.

It called on the NBC to rescind its decision, saying it would only subject itself to public and international ridicule by failing to do so and trigger a wave of global condemnation of Nigeria that the country can ill-afford.
Disagreement between the NBC Board and the Minister for Information over the amended code is yet to simmer. It will be recalled that in June, Armstrong Idachaba, NBC acting director-general (DG), disowned a call for position papers by the board of the commission on the proposed code amendments.

The Chairman of the Board, Bilbis said he received over 50 position papers for the sixth amendment of the code but none of the input was considered noting that “Code review is undertaken every four years and involves the staff of the NBC, former DGs, retired directors of the Commission and all other relevant stakeholders in broadcasting. These include Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Independent Broadcast Association of Nigeria (IBAN), private media outfits, broadcasters, notable media intellectuals, communication experts, digiteam and the academia,” he said.

“The current edition (6th Edition) was presented to the public in 2019 at an elaborate ceremony in Kano which attracted a broad section of various stakeholders.

“Following the 2019 national elections, some members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) made observations to the Honourable Minister of Information at a FEC meeting about the divisive broadcasts engaged in by some broadcast media before, during and after the elections and the need to strengthen the operations of the NBC to avert such future occurrence,” the chairman said.

“This noble observation of Mr. President was unfortunately misunderstood by the Honourable Minister of Information.“Instead of studying and following the law, relevant rules and regulations, and direct the appropriate authorities as stipulated by the law to act on, he erroneously embarked on the review alone.

“As a board, we have received and taken our time to compile the responses of numerous stakeholders which include our Nobel Laureate, activists, legal practitioners, broadcasters, investors, BON, content creators, copyright experts and professional organisations. Most of them have adduced reasonable reasons against the proposed amendment.

“The NBC was set up by law and there is an Act that guides its operations. The Honourable Minister therefore cannot usurp the powers of the board as clearly stated in the Act. Any such action by the Honourable Minister is illegal.

“The board of the NBC wishes to make it quite clear that as long as it is in place, the only NB Code that we recognise and which we shall work with in the setting of operating policies and standards for the NBC is the 6th edition of the NB code which was launched in 2019 in Kano.”