DAAR Communications Accuses NBC of Intimidation, Plot to Shut Stations

DAAR Communications Plc, owners of AIT and RayPower, has accused National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) of pursuing agenda to shut it stations, citing the recent spate of fines and media persecutions.

Tony Akiotu, group managing director, DAAR Communications Plc, queried the appropriateness of N500,000 fine on the use of provocative, inflammatory and divisive comments by anchors on the Raypower programme “Political Platform” and the N1 million fine for exceeding the allowed band occupancy limit.

He was reacting to the two letters received from the NBC in which fines were imposed on Daar Communications for allegedly infringing on the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

Akiotu, who said the organization had been threatened and every attempt made to stifle its constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression, appealed to the NBC to give them chance to operate.

He wondered why the commission ignored the vibrancy, popularity and depths of analysis on “Political Platform”.

He said the commission awarded the one million naira fine without recourse to its earlier letter dated February 10, 1999 which issued DAAR Communications a frequency assignment to Raypower FM for Transmission Boundary of 100.410 MHz to 100.590MHz and an operating frequency of 100.5MHz.

“As a responsible corporate citizen and licensee, we have paid the fines which to all intent and purposes are unjust, unfair and an assault on us; and we hereby request that after due diligence by the appropriate officers of the commission and institution of the state, it will eventually be discovered that we were indeed unjustly fined and the most honourable thing is to appropriately effect the necessary refund and restitution.

“We appeal to the Commission to let DAAR Communications Plc be. We are determined for the sake of posterity to continue to serve the good people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria professionally, responsibly and diligently.

“As an organisation, we do not bear any hatred for any government nor are we affiliated with, or an appendage of any institution, political interest or group of persons. Our loyalty is to the people of Nigeria in particular and humanity in general.”

When asked to explain the reasons for paying the fines instead of seeking legal advice, he said that it was meant to avoid a situation whereby some people would insinuate that the organization was “above the law”.

The group managing director added that it was done to prove to the commission that the organization was “law abiding” having been the pioneer private media outfit in Nigeria that stood for best practices.

On the issue of controversial licence fees, Akiotu said the media outfit had always fulfilled its financial obligations in spite of the reservation on what he called the “huge and uneconomic” fees based on the market realities.