NBC: The Regulator or Tormentor of the Broadcast industry

Chekwube Nzomiwu

Anybody who appreciates the importance of press freedom as a key indicator of a truly democratic political system, must be disturbed by the news of the N5 million fine slammed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) against Channels Television. The NBC imposed the fine on Channels Television for allegedly violating the National Broadcasting Code in a programme with the Labour Party (LP) vice-presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections, Yusuf Datti-Baba Ahmed.

The hammer of the NBC descended on the multiple award-winning media organisation shortly after the President-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, petitioned the commission to sanction the station for breaching the Broadcasting Code during the interview with Datti-Baba Ahmed. Channels Television, owned by veteran broadcaster, John Momoh, was notified of the fine in a letter signed by the NBC Director General, Balarabe Ilelah, dated March 27, 2023.

Ilelah claimed that Dattis’s comments in the programme were capable of inciting public disorder and hence, violated the Broadcasting Code. He recalled that NBC earlier engaged the station severally to consider public interest before any programme is broadcast and advised the sanctioned TV station to pay within two weeks of the receipt of the letter or the penalty will be graduated.

· The NBC Code prohibits hate speech, inflammatory, derogatory, and divisive remarks or allusions, and divisive material that may threaten or compromise the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a sovereign state, among others. The code mandates the broadcaster to have a delay mechanism to guard against possible undesirable content.

· But, the letter by NBC to Channels Television did not contain the procedure followed by the commission in penalising the media organisation. The letter did not disclose if the station was notified of any complaint against it or issued a query by the NBC over the said interview where Datti-Baba Ahmed called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, not to swear in the President-elect.

· Last year, the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) accused NBC of circumventing the procedure for handling complaints that could lead to sanctions.

· Section 14.3.1 of the Broadcasting Code says: “The Commission shall, on receipt of complaint(s):

· “(a) inform and require the Broadcaster to provide, within a specified period determined by the Commission, a response in writing and a recording of the relevant materials.

· “(b) request for copies of the relevant correspondence from the complainant.”

· In any case, criticisms and condemnation have been trailing the fine imposed on Channels Television by NBC. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) even threatened to sue President Muhammadu Buhari and the NBC over what it termed the “arbitrary and unlawful fine of N5 million imposed on Channels Television.” According to SERAP, the fine is a clear infringement on press freedom and a violation of Nigerians’ freedom of speech.

· Both press freedom and the freedom of speech are guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended). Section 22 of the Constitution states the obligation of the mass media. It says: “The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times, be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.”

· Also Section 39 (1) of the same Constitution recognises “freedom of speech” and advocates the formation of the media as an instrument of democracy. It says: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference…” Section 39(2) accords every Nigerian citizen the right to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinion. The media is the plural form of medium, which probably describes any channel of communication.

· Often, we refer to the media as the Fourth Estate of the Realm and they have the role of informing, educating and informing the public. Beyond the aforementioned, they perform surveillance and mobilisation roles in the society. The media offer relevant background information to the news, explanation of associated events and analysis of their importance and implications.

· Freedom of the media is essential in a democracy to protect human rights, promote transparency and accountability in government, and curb corruption and other forms of abuse of political power. As one of the essential pillars of democracy, it allows journalists to report freely on matters of public interest without encumbrances from any quarters.

· To underscore the importance of press freedom, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in December 1993 proclaimed May 3 World Press Freedom Day. This has been commemorated every year in the past 30 years with global conferences on media freedom.

· The United States of America is seen as the bastion of democracy in the world. Thomas Jefferson, statesman, lawyer and the third President of the United States of America said that if he had to choose between government without newspapers and newspapers without government, he would not hesitate a moment to choose the latter. The First amendment in the constitution of Uncle Sam’s country protects the freedom of speech and the press, among others. Broadcasting regulations in the United States is rooted in this First Amendment.

· But, in Nigeria, broadcasting is “solely” and “exclusively” regulated by the NBC. Established by Decree 38 of 1992 and later amended by NBC Decree No.55 of 1999, its regulatory functions include receiving, processing, and considering applications for the ownership of radio and television stations, including cable TV services, direct satellite broadcast, regulating and controlling the broadcasting industry and receiving, considering and investigating complaints from individuals and bodies regarding content of a broadcast or conduct of a station.

· Other functions of NBC are establishing and disseminating a national broadcasting code and setting standards with regards to contents and quality of broadcasting, regulating ethical standard and technical excellence, promoting Nigerian indigenous cultures, moral and community life through broadcasting, determining and applying sanctions, including revocation of licences of defaulting stations, among others.

· Unfortunately, owing to political interference, the NBC has since abandoned the job of a regulator of the broadcast industry, to assume the role of the tormentor of the industry and hence, infringing on press freedom. A few days before the governorship election, Malam Ilelah disclosed that NBC sanctioned 25 stations in the course of monitoring the 2023 general elections.

· In August last year, the commission under very controversial circumstances, imposed N5 million fine each, on three media organisations, Trust TV Limited, Multichoice Limited and NTA-Star Times, for violating the Broadcasting Code by airing a documentary by the BBC Africa Eye on the activities of armed bandits, wreaking havoc in North West Nigeria. The sanction against the three media organisations was described as “unwarranted” by The Guardian in an editorial on August 17, 2022.

· While the dust raised by the sanctions on the three media organisations was yet to die down, the commission struck again, revoking the licenses of 54 media organisations, including Arise TV, AIT and Silverbird TV Network over N2.6 billion debt. It ordered the enforcement of the revocation order within 24 hours. The action of NBC attracted public condemnation and it quickly reversed itself by extending the enforcement of the order, claiming it was due to appeals by the affected stations, stakeholders and public spirited individuals and organisations.

· I will conclude by declaring the latest fine imposed on Channels Television as another crackdown on press freedom in Nigeria. I watched the interview myself and heard the presenter describe the said inciting comment made by Datti-Baba Ahmed as “an extreme opinion.” For me, the observation of the presenter was enough to spare Channels Television of NBC’s big stick.

· Finally, Mallam Ilelah should understand that Nigeria is capitalist inclined and not a communist enclave like the defunct Soviet Union and China where he spent the better part of his adult life working as a journalist under state censorship. He should equally understand that he is regulating an industry that not only contributes millions of dollars to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria, but also offers employment to thousands of Nigerians. In discharging his mandate of regulating the broadcast industry in the country, he should demarcate properly the lines between protecting broadcast consumers from harm and encroaching on the freedom of the press.

· Nzomiwu, a public affairs commentator writes from Awka, Anambra State.