Media Owners to NBC: We Won’t Stop Reporting Terrorist Attacks
- The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) recently stated that some stations are deviating from their obligations and responsibilities
- The NBC expressed concerns about how terrorist activities and bandits' attacks are reported by the stations
- Media owners have now reacted to the commission's directive, dismissing it as a rule that can't stand
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FCT, Abuja - Media owners in Nigeria have dismissed the directive of the federal government that the media houses should not divulge “details” of the activities of bandits, terrorists, and kidnappers in their reports.
The president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mustapha Isah; the national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Chris Isiguzo; and the Executive Director, Centre for Media Law and Advocacy, Richard Akinnola say they won't obey the directive.
Source: Facebook
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They made this known in separate interviews with The Punch newspaper on Friday, July 16.
Media owners vow to shun directive
According to them, the media reports activities and does not create events.
They advised the Buhari-led to tackle the security challenges in the country and desist from its attempts to gag the media through the minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
NGE president, Isah stated emphatically that the government could not tell the media how to tailor its reports.
His words
“The NBC said broadcast stations should not glamourise terrorist activities which I agree with but I have a problem with the issue of ‘don’t report details of attack’. I don’t know what the NBC mean by that.
“The media does not create events; we report events. If there is a terrorist attack, we will report it. In fact, if we don’t report it, that means we are not doing our job. We will not stop doing that, we will not stop reporting events despite the threats.”
NBC accused of attempts to gag the media
Also, NUJ president, Isiguzo said the NUJ would ensure that the media space was not compressed in Nigeria under any guise.
His words:
“This latest directive must be reviewed by the commission. The NBC must also ensure that its actions are in line with international best practices and must conform with time-tested models from other nations.”
Akinnola also described the NBC directive as obnoxious and a subtle attempt to gag the press.
He said:
“The government has failed in the aspect of insecurity and this is a subtle effort to cover the inadequacy of the government.”
Legit.ng had earlier reported that the NBC ordered television and radio stations in Nigeria not to divulge details of the activities of bandits, terrorists, and kidnappers in their news reports.
The regulator specifically directed radio and television stations not to magnify the activities of insurgents during their daily newspaper reviews.
In a letter issued to television and radio stations, NBC stressed the need for caution by broadcasters while reporting on security challenges in the country.
Recall that NBC had earlier ordered all social media platforms to obtain its license as a condition for operating in the country.
The order, which also affects all broadcast stations, was issued in a statement on Thursday, June 10, signed by the commission's former director-general, Armstrong Idachaba.
Quoting the NBC's Act CAP N11, Laws of the Federation 2004, Section 2(1)(b)), Idachaba warned that stations and online platforms which fail to obtain the license will be regarded as illegal in Nigeria.
Source: Legit.ng
