- Channels TV Yet To Pay
By Celestine Okafor (Publisher/Editor-in-Chief)
Daar Communications Limited, promoters of African Independent Television (AIT) and ARISE NEWS, two of the three television stations recently sanctioned by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for allegedly violating the Commission's operational broadcasting code in their reportage of the recent Lekki, Lagos, ENDSARS protest, have finally paid their fines, Nigerian NewsLeader Newspapers can authoritatively reveal.
NEWSLEADER also gathered that Channels Tv station was yet to redeem its own fine to the NBC as at the close of the working week on Friday November 13, 2020. Both AIT and ARISE NEWS TV were said to have fully paid their N3million fines each, which amounts to a total of N6million.
An authoritative source at the NBC headquarter located within the precinct of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, but who would not be mentioned here for obvious reasons, however confirmed to NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER on Friday evening, that despite pockets of opposition to the NBC's action and the civil litigations to that effect against the Commission by the protesting Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) and some Civil Society groups like SERAP and DRLI, the allegedly offending TV stations have started complying with the NBC's financial sanctions against them. The source also hinted that Channels TV's fine was still being expected anytime soon by the Commission.
The top NBC source said to NEWSLEADER thus: "Let me tell you that as we speak this moment, the AIT and ARISE NEWS TV stations have fully paid their fines. The only one that is yet to pay is Channels TV, and we are expecting them to do the needful soon. The NBC under the leadership of the current Acting Director General, Professor Amstrong Idachaba, is very serious about the sanctions against those TV stations. The Commission is very firm and decisive about enforcing the NBC's Broadcasting Code which some broadcast stations have been flagrantly violating. If this Commission had been lenient and have overlooked some of their infractions of the code of practice in the past based on whatever considerations, this time, we need to get everyone of them to sit up and do the right thing. They need to respect or obey the code in the interest of our country".
The source continued: "The NBC, henceforth, will no longer tolerate any further violation of the guiding rules of practice contained in the code, not that the Commission is against any broadcast station, but we need to obey our rules and broadcast to our people very responsibly. We also need to protect our people and our society from disseminating fake and unverified news to them. The NBC will not tolerate any fake, substandard and unverified news broadcast materials from unconventional sources as User Generated Content (UGC). Fake news is prohibited anywhere in the world. It has catastrophic implications or consequences as we have seen in the case of ENDSARS protests where avoidable anger, desperation and panic caused lives and properties amounting to trillions of Naira to be lost by the nation. No amount of opposition to the NBC or Court action will deter the NBC from fulfilling its statutory mandate on broadcasting standard regulation or succumb to doing the wrong thing. Enough is really enough!".
Following this development however, NEWSLEADER made efforts to confirm the authenticity of the alleged fine payments from the managements of the three television stations involved, but none of them was actually ready to speak on the matter. But a Managing Director of one of the affected TV stations told NEWSLEADER Correspondent in a brief telephone conversation on Saturday morning that the management of his broadcast station "will really not offer any comment to your professional enquiries in this respect because this matter (NBC sanctions) is already a subject of court deliberation and we would not like to be drawn into any controversy. We are a responsible Corporate body notwithstanding what has happened", the TV station's MD however stated.
While opinions are still divided over whether or not, the NBC under Professor Idachaba was right or wrong in sanctioning the AIT, ARISE NEWS and Channels TV stations or perverted due process in applying the penalty over what the NBC described as acts "of irresponsibility" on the part of the erring stations, the Commission has threatened to be more severe by increasing the fine rate if the broadcast stations further violates the operational code of practice. The NBC appears quite uncompromising in getting the broadcast stations to keep to the prescribed standards and relevant provisions of their regulation. The Commission is still livid that it's code has been impudently breached 697 times in the past three (3) months by most broadcast stations operating in Nigeria.
NEWSLEADER checks revealed that the NBC Code is crystal clear on how broadcasters are supposed to ply their trade as contained in the extant Sixth Edition and the amendment/addendum of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code.
For instance, in the "Class B" of the amendments to the 6th Edition of the NBC Code which is specific on unconventional reportage of news by broadcast media stations, paragraphs 5.6.0 - 5.6.9, stated very clearly as follows, that: "In contemporary times, the impact of technology has significantly enabled citizen's contributions to Journalism, which are beneficial to broadcasting. This genre of Citizen's Reportage deploy such facilities as User Generated Contents (UGC), providing instantaneous eye-witness account of events. Such technological benefits place further demand on the Broadcaster to be more cautious of its editorial responsibility".
However, paragraphs 5.6.2 - 5.6.9 of the 'Dos and Don'ts' of broadcast station's operational guidelines as enshrined in the amended provisions of the NBC Code and which the broadcast stations had subscribed to, stated that:
5.6.2 : The Broadcaster shall approach with restraints, the use of materials from User Generated Sources in order not to embarrass individuals, organizations, governments or cause disaffection, incite to panic or rift in the society at large.
5.6.3. : The Broadcaster shall verify news materials emanating from unconventional sources, as Fake News is Prohibited.
5.6.4. : The Broadcaster shall ensure that materials from user generated sources meet all provisions of the Code.
5.6.5. : The Broadcaster shall ensure that the news materials sent in by the public are vetted to ensure editorial responsibility.
5.6.6. : The Broadcaster shall ensure that the User Generated Content (UGC) and sources are clearly identified.
5.6.7 : The Broadcaster shall avoid infringing on privacy rights when materials are sent in from user generated sources.
5.6.8 : The Broadcaster shall be particularly careful when handling crises situations, crashes, earthquakes, natural disasters, etc, so as not to cause panic or trauma to relations of victims.
5.6.9 : The Broadcaster shall be held liable for any breach of The Code (broadcasting) emanating from the use of materials from user generated sources.
From the foregoing, however, the Managing Director of the TV station who spoke to our Correspondent, advised that the event of the ENDSARS and its consequent sanctions on the three television stations, is a "clarion call to both the broadcast stations and the regulating NBC to be awake to their societal roles and consciously ensure that the Nigerian society is protected from the ugly menace of fake news and indiscretionary news reportage". NNL.
