Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and the International Press Centre (IPC) have issued a joint press release criticising the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the N5 million naira fine imposed on Channels Television on Monday, March 27.

Edetaen Ojo and Lanre Arogundade, executive directors of the MRA and the IPC respectively, said the fine was arbitrary and condemned the commission for denying Channels Television an opportunity to defend itself.

They demanded that the NBC reverse the fine immediately.

“NBC has in this instance again exercised quasi-judicial powers injudiciously, by constituting itself to the prosecutor and the judge over a case brought before it by a third party. In previous instances, it has also additionally been the accuser,” the statement read in part.

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Ojo and Arogundade accused the regulatory commission of being unfair and unjust in its punitive action against Channels Television, stating that its decision was based on a petition from Bayo Onanuga, Director of Media and Publicity for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC).

According to them, the commission obliged Onanuga’s request to punish the station for an interview with Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party vice presidential candidate, while denying Channels Television the right to defend itself.

Ojo and Arogundade observed that by acting only on Onanuga’s petition, the NBC exposed itself as a willing instrument employed by the ruling administration to stifle journalistic freedom.

They urged the commission to refrain from actions that would undermine its credibility and independence, while emphasising that “the fundamental principles that ought to guide the regulation of broadcasting and related activities are the ones that advance the public interest and are investment-friendly, both of which have been discarded in the handling of the petition”.

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On Friday, the NBC announced a N5 million naira fine against Channels Television for televising an interview with Baba-Ahmed, in which he said inaugurating president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu was tantamount to ending democracy in the country.

Balarabe Ilelah, the NBC Director General, stated that Baba Ahmed’s comments breached the commission’s code and had the potential to incite public unrest. He gave the news organisation two weeks to pay the fine.