BON petitions minister over N5 million fine on broadcast station
• CSOS sue Buhari over sanction, want decision reversed
BROADCASTING Organisation of Nigeria ( BON) has petitioned Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, complaining of alleged high- handedness in the National Broadcasting Commission ( NBC) imposition of N5 million fine on Channels TV for supposed tolerance of treasonable outburst of a guest.
Besides, the organisation, in a statement, yesterday, slammed the regulator for being the “accuser and the judge” in the matter, involving the interview granted vice presidential candidate of Labour Party ( LP) in the February 25, 2023 general elections, Datti Baba- Ahmed.
Recall that the guest, who featured on Politics Today by Seun Okinbaloye, had advised the Chief Justice of Nigeria ( CJN) against swearing in President- elect Bola Tinubu.
He had submitted that his inauguration would signal end of democracy in the country. The petition, issued by BON’S Executive Secretary, Dr. Yemisi Bamgbose, reads: “We found it absurd that NBC, as a regulator, could impose illegal fine on a broadcast station without employing all avenues to investigate the complaints nor give room for defence from the station so accused.
“Honourable minister, sir, the attitudes of NBC towards broadcast stations in recent past are not only arbitrary, but smack of high- handedness, which is almost suffocating the broadcast media in the country.” Appealing to Mohammed to use his good offices to rein in the NBC, BON added: “It is in the light of the above and for many other reasons that we are calling on the minister to urgently call NBC to order to avoid total decimation of the hitherto respected regulatory body.”
Venting its mind to NBC DG, BON said the watchdog was “gradually sliding to agent of media suppression, which may lose its credibility as unbiased regulator.”
IN a related development, Socio- Economic Rights and Accountability Project ( SERAP) and Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development ( CJID) have sued President Muhammadu Buhari and two others at the Federal High Court, Lagos over the fine.