The National Broadcasting Commission has fined Channels TV N5 million for hosting the spokesperson of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Emma Powerful on its Politics Today programme.
The fine, according to the letter addressed to the managing director of the TV station, and signed by the acting Director-General of NBC, Armstrong Idachaba, said Powerful’s statement on Channel’s Politics Today was inciting without being cautioned during the programme.
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According to him, the station is liable to a suspension of its licence for breaching the broadcasting code but only the programme that would be suspended.
Powerful had appeared on Channel’s Politics Today where he threatened the governor of Imo state and made other inciting comments.
“In the programme, a so-called new leader of IPOB made several secessionist and inciting declarations on air without caution or reprimand by your station. He also made derogatory, false and misleading statements about the Nigerian Army,
“This is reprehensible, especially that IPOB remains a proscribed organisation as pronounced by the law courts of the land. This much Channels ought to know and respect.”
“The programme was very clearly in violation of the provisions of the code, and extant provisions of the broadcasting act. Refer Sections 3.11.1(b) and 5.43 of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code which state the following; ‘311 1(b) The Broadcaster shall ensure that no programme contains anything which amounts to subversion of constituted authority or compromises the unity or corporate existence of Nigeria as a sovereign state.’
“For obviously breaching the above provisions of the law, your station remains liable to sanctions provided in section 15 of the code which prescribes among others – suspension of broadcast licence and a fine of N5 million.”
“Please ensure an immediate stop to the programme,” he said.
Reacting, the People’s Democratic Party described the suspension and the fine as draconian.
In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said that without prejudice to the issues raised against Channels Television, the reported “hasty clamp down, without the benefit of caution, is suggestive of intolerance and high-handedness by the regulatory body.
“Our party is worried that such disposition could be counter-productive and heighten the already tensed situation in our nation at this critical time.
“The PDP therefore urges the NBC to review the punitive measure on the media house as well as scale up system-friendly measure that’ll ensure best practices in information dissemination in our country”.
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