NBC Says Nduka's “Arise News’ is Illegal in Nigeria

National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) said that ‘Arise News’, a new 24 hours international television news operation launched on February 5 does not have a licence to operate within the country’s territory.

Yomi Bolarinwa, director-general of NBC said that “Arise News has not applied to the commission for a broadcast licence and does not have a licence to operate in Nigeria’s territory,’’ the statement said.

According to Bolarinwa, the  commission’s attention was drawn to the publication in Thisday Newspaper of February  4 which said that the TV station would “soft launch on Feb. 5 following a two-day test broadcast.’’

“The said publication claimed that the broadcast would emanate from London, New York, Johannesburg and Lagos.’’

Bolarinwa said that the commission had been inundated with enquiries on the legal status of the station since the news of the launch broke, and that the TV station did not have a licence to operate in the country.

“The NBC wishes to draw the attention of the public to the fact that the said television operation has not applied to the commission for a broadcast licence in accordance with the provisions of the law governing the establishment and operation of broadcasting stations in Nigeria as provided in Sections 2(1) (b)(c), 2(2) and 11 of the NBC Act No. 38, 1999.

“Section 2(2) states that no person shall operate or use any apparatus or premises for the transmission of sound or vision by cable, television, radio, satellite or any other medium of broadcast from anywhere in Nigeria except under and in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

“Section 11 states that a request by a person for authority to own, establish or operate a radio, sound, television, cable or satellite station shall be by way of an application for a licence addressed to the Director-General of the commission and in the form prescribed in the second schedule to this Act,’’ it stated.

Arise News and Arise News 360, a sister channel are owned by Nduka Obaigbena, owner and publisher of the fashion and culture magazine, ARISE, and the publisher of several other titles including one of Nigeria’s daily newspapers, THISDAY made its debut recently.

They are broadcasting from its main News Centres in London, New York, Johannesburg and Lagos and supported by a further eight bureaux around the globe stretching from Beijing to Rio de Janeiro.

Obaigbena said: ‘We will attract a global audience interested in emerging markets, developing countries and evolving politics. With headquarters and bureaux throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, we are ready to speak to our audience and give them a voice as well.

‘We are a new international network established to reflect the new world order not hardwired to the old and built to reflect the modern way news is consumed. Nowhere is this more important than in the emerging economies.”

Obaigbena stressed: “There will be no state funding and no state agenda. Our coverage will be balanced, comprehensive and completely independent.