Datti interview: NBC failed to allow Channels TV defend itself, say IPC, MRA

Lanre Arogundade, director of the International Press Centre (IPC), and Edetaen Ojo, director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), say the N5 million fine levied against Channels Television by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) is unfair.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels TV programme, on March 22, Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), said there is no president-elect because Bola Tinubu did not allegedly meet the requirements of the constitution.

He asked Olukayode Ariwoola, chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), not to swear in Tinubu as president.

Reacting to Datti’s statement, NBC sanctioned Channels TV over a “volatile broadcast capable of inciting public disorder and violating sections of the broadcasting code”.

Arogundade and Ojo, in a joint statement on Tuesday, said NBC’s failure to allow Channels TV to put up a defence undermines the credibility and independence of the broadcast media sector.

“Assuming without conceding that Channels TV erred in the management of the said interview, it was still pertinent for NBC to have heard their side of the story. In failing to do so, NBC acted unfairly and unjustly as it based its heavy-handed decision on the claims of one side only,” the statement reads.

“NBC has in this instance again exercised quasi-judicial powers injudiciously, by constituting itself to the prosecutor and the judge over a case brought before it by a third party. In previous instances, it has also additionally been the accuser.

“We urge NBC to desist from walking this path, which undermines its credibility and independence and weakens the broadcast sector as a result. We call on the commission to immediately reverse the hastily imposed fine and give Channels TV the deserved opportunity to defend itself.”