The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has fined Nigeria Info 99.3, N 5 million over a recent interview with Obadiah Mailafia a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This was contained in a press statement issued by NBC management on Thursday tittle “The National Broadcasting Commission Fines Nigeria Info 99.3 For Unprofessional Broadcast.
The NBC expressed its dissatisfaction at the radio station for using its platform to promote and spread unverifiable information that could ignite violence, crime and public disorder in the country.
During Mailafia interview at the radio station on Monday, he spoke extensively on the insecurity in the Northern part of the country, said one of the Northern Governor is the leader of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
Subsequently, he was interrogated by the Department of State Services( DSS) and was later allowed to go when his statement was devoid of facts.
NBC fined Nigeria Info to have broadcasted such information to the public and has also violated the following sections of the Nigeria Broadcasting code which are:
No broadcast shall encourage or incite to crime, lead to public disorder or hate, be repugnant to public feelings or contain an offensive reference to any person or organization, alive or dead or generally be disrespectful to human dignity
Broadcasting shall promote human dignity, therefore, hate speech is prohibited.
The broadcaster shall ensure that any information given in a programme is accurate.
The Broadcaster shall ensure that all sides of information to the public is of interest and equitably presented for fairness and balance.
The broadcaster shall ensure that language or scene likely to encourage or incite any form of crime is avoided.
No programme contains anything which amounts to subversion of constituted authority or compromises the unity of the corporate existence of Nigeria as a sovereign state.
The Broadcaster shall not transmit divisive materials that may threaten or compromise the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a sovereign state.
Consequent on these provisions and in line with the amendment of the 6th edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, Nigeria Info 99.3FM Lagos, has been fined the sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira), only.
This is expected to serve as a deterrent to all other broadcast stations in Nigeria.
The Commission wishes to set the record straight and will not hesitate to suspend the Broadcast Licence of any broadcast stations that continue to breach the Code of the NBC or use their platform for subversive rhetorics and the expositions of spurious and unverifiable claims.
