‘It’s abusing its powers’ — Media Rights Agenda asks national assembly to probe NBC

The Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has asked the national assembly to probe the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over alleged abuse of powers.

The organisation is reacting to the N2 million fines imposed on Arise Television and Television Continental (TVC) for allegedly breaching the broadcast code last week.

In a statement on Monday, Maimuna Momoh, MRA’s programme officer, said the commission has succumbed to Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, who is “overly politically partisan”.

Momoh said broadcasters are being forced not to criticize government officials and powerful political figures.

“It cannot be fair or just that the NBC, which wrote the Nigeria Broadcasting Code to create offences, is the complainant in the allegations of violation of the Code by broadcasting stations, investigates the alleged breaches itself, prosecutes the accused stations, sits in judgment on the matter, frequently without even giving the stations any opportunity to defend themselves against the allegations, sanctions them through the imposition of fines, which it collects as part of its revenue,” she said.

“This is clearly an affront to principles of fair hearing, equity, and justice.

“If the NBC is not deterred from this approach to regulations, Nigerians will be fed only the minister’s version of the truth, thereby defeating the purpose of section 22 of the constitution.

“An established principle guiding the operations of a regulatory authority exercising powers in the area of broadcasting is that it should be independent and adequately protected against the interference of a political, commercial, or other nature.

“Contrary to this internationally established norm, the Minister of Information continues to interfere in the regulatory functions of the NBC and frequently deploys it as a weapon with which he prevents broadcasting stations from performing their duty to uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people or for punishing those that dare to do so.”

The programme officer said it is on this basis that her organisation is calling on the national assembly to carry out a transparent investigation.