NBC fines Trust TV over documentary on terrorism

The National Broadcasting Commission has imposed a fine of N5 million on Trust Television Network Trust TV over its documentary found to have given undue coverage to terrorists.
The Federal Government last week vowed to punish the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Daily Trust over what it called the unprofessional airing of different documentaries that glorified and capable of fuelling terrorism in Nigeria.
The imposed fine was disclosed on Wednesday in a statement signed by NBC Director General, Balarabe Shehu Illela.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had said that the Federal Government had taken note of ‘’the unprofessional documentary by the BBC, Africa Eye, where interviews were granted to bandit warlords and terror gangs, thereby promoting terror in the country’’.

Meanwhile, the Trust TV in a reaction stated, “The NBC, in a letter to our company dated August 3, 2022, which was signed by its Director General, Balarabe Shehu Illela, said the fine was imposed on Trust TV because its broadcast of the said documentary contravened sections of the National Broadcasting Code.

“While we are currently studying the Commission’s action and weighing our options, we wish to state unequivocally that as a television station, we believe we were acting in the public interest by shedding light on the thorny issue of banditry and how it is affecting millions of citizens of our country.

“The documentary traces the root of the communal tensions and systemic inadequacies which led to the armed conflict that is setting the stage for another grand humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. It presents insights into the intersection of injustice, ethnicity and bad governance as drivers of the conflict.

“It also aggregates voices of experts and key actors towards finding solutions, including those of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Senator Saidu Mohammed Dansadau, who hails from one the worst hit communities in Zamfara State.

“Other experts who featured in the documentary include scholars like Professor Abubakar Saddique of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Dr. Murtala Ahmed Rufai of the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, who have both studied the subject of banditry for a long period.

“The documentary also brought to the fore the horrifying stories of victims of banditry.”