NBC’s offensive caught TV, radio stations off-guard

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) recently slammed fines on 23 broadcasting stations, but will the sanctions make them conform to broadcast Codes?    As the country moves towards 2019 elections, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said it was stepping up efforts towards ensuring decent broadcasting and fair play in the months before the period. […]

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) recently slammed fines on 23 broadcasting stations, but will the sanctions make them conform to broadcast Codes? 

 

As the country moves towards 2019 elections, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said it was stepping up efforts towards ensuring decent broadcasting and fair play in the months before the period.

The NBC Director-General Malam Is’haq Moddibo Kawu said the spate of inciting broadcasts which were heating up the polity and breaching the Nigeria broadcasting Code forced the Commission to increase its vigilance. 

Malam Kawu said the NBC had been convening stakeholders’ meetings with station operators and political parties’ representatives to stop hate speech and other indecent broadcast.

This is in line with the Commission’s mandate of upholding the political objectives of broadcasting contained in the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

As such, the NBC deemed slammed a N23million fine on 23 radio and television stations across the country for going against the provisions of the code. 

NBC’s spokesperson Maimuna Jimada, in a statement made available to Daily Trust on Sunday, said the broadcasting stations were punished for various breaches in contravention of the provisions in the third quarter of 2017. 

 Mrs Jimada said the contraventions included breaches of the rules on hateful speech, vulgar lyrics and unverifiable claims.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that Family Love FM, Port Harcourt was fined N200, 000, ABS FM, Awka, N100, 000 and Express FM Radio, Kano fined N300, 000 for hate speeches.

For using indecent musicals, Royal FM Abuja, Flo FM, Umuahia, Radio Continental, Lagos and Crystal 100.5FM Minna, where fined N100,000, N100,000, N200,000 and N100,000 respectively.

For making unverifiable claims, the regulator punished Crowther FM Abuja, Harmony FM Abuja, Inspirational FM, Uyo, BCA FM, Umuahia, ABS FM, Awka, Minaj Systems Radio, Obosi, IBC (Orient TV), Owerri, Rainbow FM, Isheri, Globe FM Bauchi, Arewa Radio, Kano, EBS Radio, Benin and Bond FM, Lagos with fines of N100,000, N100,000, N100,000, N150,000, N100,000, N100,000, N50,000, N100,000, N100,000, N100,000, N100,000 and N499,000 respectively.

ITV, Jalingo and IBC (Orient TV), Owerri were fined N100, 000 and N50, 000 respectively for voicing and unprofessional broadcast.  

But an expert in the industry, Mr Olayemi Daniyan, thought the fine was too small considering the impact the offence they committed could have on the society.

Mr Daniyan said “We shouldn’t set the country ablaze with our misconduct on air. NBC is going through one of its toughest period because of social media. I will urge them to redouble their efforts.”

However, Malam Kawu advised radio and television stations as well as politicians to live up to expectations noting that “there cannot be democracy, if we do not often have the political system dealing with creative tensions and disputations.

NBC said regulating hate speech has been a challenging phenomenon but the Commission has tried to cope with some of these challenges, as the regulatory institution. 

During the last anniversary Lecture of the NBC, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, while condemning the very disturbing trend of hate speeches in Nigeria requested the NBC to live up to its responsibility and sanction defaulting stations.