FG: We’ll sanction Trust TV, BBC over documentaries on bandits

The Federal Government says it will sanction Daily Trust Newspaper and the BBC over their stories on bandits in the North.

The Federal Government says it will sanction Trust TV, a television owned by Media Trust Group, and the BBC over their stories on bandits in the North.

In separate documentaries, Trust TV and BBC Africa Eye exposed the activities of the gangs making life difficult for Nigerians.

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Speaking with journalists on Thursday, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the documentaries promoted terrorism in the country.

The minister said the appropriate regulatory body was already looking at the infractions and appropriate sanctions would be meted to both platforms.

“There is a regulatory body regulating broadcasting which is the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and they are also aware of these two incidents.

“They are looking at which part of the Broadcasting Code that has been violated by the BBC and Trust TV. Media is the oxygen that terrorists and bandits use to breathe.

“When otherwise reputable platforms like BBC can give their platform to terrorists showing their faces as if they are Nollywood stars, it is unfortunate.

“I want to assure them that they will not get away with it, appropriate sanctions will be meted to both the BBC and the Trust Tv,” Mohammed said.

The minister further stated that the fact that BBC is a foreign medium and not under NBC regulations, notwithstanding, sanctions will be meted to the medium.

“Let me assure you that they will not get away with the naked glorification of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria. If they are not registered in Nigeria and they are only sending their signals to Nigeria, we will ask them to stop sending the signals.

“I know that during the IRA days, the BBC will not dare do what they are doing now in Nigeria. It is because there is a country called Nigeria that they are operating here,” he said.

The management of Media Trust Group is yet to receive any official communication from the NBC or the Ministry of Information.