The Nigerian Broadcasting Commission has urged Nigerian broadcast operators, mainly radio and TV broadcasters against glamourising the activities of insurgents, bandits and kidnappers, citing that too many details may have an adverse implication on the war against insecurity.
This was disclosed in a statement titled ‘Newspaper Reviews And Current Affairs Programmes: A Need For Caution’, and signed on behalf of the Director-General, Alarabe Ilelah, according to TheCable.
What the NBC said
The NBC called for caution on the part of the broadcast stations in the reportage of the activities of insurgents, terrorists, bandits and kidnappers.
“Headlines of most Newspapers on a daily basis are replete with security topics. While bringing information on security to the doorsteps of Nigerians is a necessity, there is a need for caution as too many details may have an adverse implication on the efforts of our security officials who are duty-bound to deal with the insurgency,”
The commission, therefore, enjoins broadcasters to collaborate with the government in dealing with the security challenges by;
Not glamourising the nefarious activities of insurgents, terrorists, kidnappers, bandits etc,” the statement read.
The NBC advised security analysts on Nigerian media stations against polarising citizenry with divisive rhetoric in driving home their point.
“Not giving details of either the security issues or victims of these security challenges so as not to jeopardise the efforts of the Nigerian soldiers and other security agents,” it urged.
The Commission reminded broadcast operators in the statement that they should adhere to sections 5.4.1(f) and 5.4.3 of the NBC Code which warns against transmitting divisive materials that may threaten or compromise the divisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a sovereign state.
In case you missed it
- The NBC in August 2020 slammed a fine of N5 million on a radio station, Nigeria Info, over a claim made by a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia in an interview where he claimed that some of the repentant Boko Haram militants confessed that one of the northern governors is the commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria.
- In October of the same year, the NBC fined Nigerian media houses including AIT, Channels TV and Arise News, claiming they used unverifiable video footages from social media to cover the #EndSARS protests.
- Recently, the Commission ordered all TV and Radio operators in Nigeria to discontinue the use of Twitter, following the ban of the Social Media platform in Nigeria.
- The Federal Government also directed the NBC to immediately commence the process of licensing all social media operations in Nigeria.
