The National Broadcasting Commission has imposed a fine of
N5 million on Trust Television Network (Trust TV) over the broadcast of the
documentary titled “Nigeria’s Banditry: The Inside Story”, which was aired by
the station on the 5th of March, 2022.
The Trust TV management, in a statement on
Wednesday, noted that the fine was communicated to the media firm in a letter
signed by the NBC Director General, Balarabe Shehu Illela.
Illela had said the fine was imposed on Trust TV because its
broadcast of the said documentary contravened sections of the National
Broadcasting Code.
Trust TV further said, “While we are currently studying the Commission’s action and weighing our options, we wish to state unequivocally that as a television station, we believe we were acting in the public interest by shedding light on the thorny issue of banditry and how it is affecting millions of citizens of our country.
“The documentary traces the root of the communal tensions
and systemic inadequacies which led to the armed conflict that is setting the
stage for another grand humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. It presents insights
into the intersection of injustice, ethnicity and bad governance as drivers of
the conflict. It also aggregates voices of experts and key actors towards
finding solutions, including those of the Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and Senator Saidu Mohammed Dansadau, who hails from one
the worst-hit communities in Zamfara State.
“Other experts featured in the documentary include scholars
like Professor Abubakar Saddique of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Dr.
Murtala Ahmed Rufai of the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, who have both
studied the subject of banditry for a long period.
“The documentary also
brought to the fore the horrifying stories of victims of banditry.”
Last Thursday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai
Mohammed, noted that the Federal Government would sanction Trust TV and BBC for
“terrorism glorification” in their documentaries.
Mohammed said the Federal Government is aware of the
“unprofessional” documentary by the BBC, Africa Eye, where interviews were
granted to bandit warlords and terror gangs, thereby promoting “terror” in the
country.
He condemned the BBC for not “upholding the same standards
and tenets” as they would have done in the UK.
The minister said that the BBC is a foreign medium and not
under NBC regulations. Notwithstanding, sanctions will be meted out to the
medium.
Following Mohammed’s assertion, several groups and Civil
Society Organisations faulted the FG’s move to sanction the media outlets.
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