NGE Demands Investigation into Police Invasion of TV Station

Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has  condemned the recent action of a Police Force squad who broke into ABN TV and arrested a guest during a live programme in Umuahia, Abia State.

The Guild also praised Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, for invalidating the code authorising the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), to impose fines on broadcast stations for alleged breaches.

Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia in a recent ruling declared some provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code invalid.

The NGE also criticized a 2022, N5 million fine each on three television stations for allegedly undermining Nigeria’s national security by airing documentaries on banditry in the country.

A statement by NGE observed that a pro-media rights group Media Rights Agenda (MRA) asked the NBC to operate within its limit of constitutional authority and commended it for taking such correction steps.

”Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia delivered the ruling in a suit brought by the pro-media rights group Media Rights Agenda (MRA) against the NBC. The MRA claimed that the NBC, not being a court of law, had exceeded its authority by imposing these fines.

” The judge also commended the MRA for its legal challenge of the NBC’s action and issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the commission or anyone acting on its behalf from further imposing any fine on any media platform or broadcast station in Nigeria for any alleged offence committed under the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

” Around August 2022, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia set aside the fines that NBC had imposed on Multichoice, TelCom Satellite, Trust-TV Network, and NTA Startimes for airing a documentary about the state of security and banditry in Zamfara State. The judge stated that the regulator’s action was wrong and unjustifiable in a democratic society.

“Our position has always been that an independent body, institution or competent court of law should be the one to examine any perceived infraction by the broadcast stations, which should be given the opportunity to defend themselves. The court is right in its ruling, by saying that NBC had arrogated judiciary power to itself by imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law,” the statement maintained.

The editors reiterated their earlier resolution to engage President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly and other stakeholders over the NBC Act and the Broadcast Code of Conduct, with the aim to amend and reform them to conform to the global best practices.

“This action of the police is uncivilized, barbaric and confrontational. No matter the enormity of the alleged offence, the police officers could have without difficulty waited for the live programme to come to an end before swinging into action”,.

” The Guild therefore called on the Nigeria Police Force to thoroughly investigate the matter in ensuring that the affected officers are brought to book and the broadcast equipment belonging to the TV station, which were damaged in the course of the invasion, be replaced immediately” the statement concluded.

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