‘No fair hearing’ — Media coalition asks NBC to drop fine against TVC, Arise TV

The Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) has asked the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to drop the fine against Television Continental (TVC), and Arise TV.

In January, the broadcast regulator fined TVC and Arise Tv N2 million each for airing “hate speech and inflammatory comments”.

In a statement issued on Monday, the coalition accused NBC of “breaching the principle of a fair hearing” in sanctioning the media outfits.

CWPPF said by not giving TVC and Arise TV a fair hearing, the broadcast regulator acted as an “accuser, prosecutor, and judge”.

“While it is clear that hate speech is antithetical to professional journalistic practices and inconsistent with democratic principles of inclusivity, equity and justice, it is also essential to understand that allegations of hate speech should not be made lightly and any organization or individual accused of hate speech should be given adequate opportunity to defend themselves against the charge,” the statement reads.

“For an evolving democracy like Nigeria’s, the airing of hate speech by a broadcaster would be considered a huge breach of the agreed standards of professional journalism practice, which are essential for the mass media to effectively perform their core function of informing society on a range of issues and ensuring all shades of opinions are given access to the media platform.

However, it is equally imperative that in addressing any allegation that a broadcaster had violated established professional standards by broadcasting hate speech, a regulatory authority must be guided by the constitutional and democratic principles of fair hearing, equity, justice and fair play.

“The suspicion that a broadcaster has aired hate speech cannot give NBC the right and power to be the accuser, prosecutor, and judge.

“We believe that NBC, having played the role of the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge in this instance, has breached the right to fair hearing for the media organizations that it has sanctioned.

“If indeed hate speech was the case, as alleged, reported, the  decent and appropriate thing to do would have been to prosecute the alleged culprits  in a court of law vested with jurisdiction in such a matter, rather than making a scapegoat out of the media organizations that were performing their professional and constitutional functions and merely  provided an opportunity for citizens to air their views in the context of an electioneering campaign.”

While condemning the sanctions imposed on the TV stations as not following due process, the coalition asked NBC to drop the fine, stressing that it “encroaches on the idea of a free press and free speech”.

The coalition also asked the federal government to work with stakeholders in the media and broadcasting sectors to review the hate speech prohibition provision in the NBC code because the “interpretation given to hate speech in the current code is offensive to free speech, which is an essential part of the democratic process”.

The CWPPF is a group of media and civil society organisations (CSOs) focused on promoting democracy and good governance.

CWPPF members include Premium Times, OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative, TheCable, Daily Trust newspaper, Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), and Civic Media Lab.

Others are Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), International Press Centre (IPC), International Press Institute, Nigeria, Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Paradigm Initiative, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), and HEDA Resource Centre.