The Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has fined Nigeria-Info FM Lagos the sum of N5 million, for alleged hate speech.
According to reports, the fine on Nigeria-Info FM was slammed on the radio station for allowing its platform to be used for promoting unverifiable and inciting views that can cause crime, public disorder.
The station is to pay N5m, which the commission said will serve as a deterrent to all other broadcast stations in the country.
The sanction is in respect of the handling of the Programme, “Morning Cross Fire”, aired on August 10, 2020, between 8.30am and 9.00am.
The station provided its platform for the guest, Dr. Mailafia Obadiah, to promote unverifiable and inciting views that could encourage or incite to crime and lead to public disorder.
No official statement has been released by Nigeria-Info Fm on this allegation, but the fine comes a few hours after NBC threatened to sanction broadcast stations over any message that ‘insult’ President Muhammadu Buhari and others.
In a letter to broadcast stations, Chibuike Ogwumike, zonal director of the NBC Lagos office, warned against such messages from guests during radio programmes.
Ogwumike referred broadcasters to sections of the NBC code that provides for “professional rules” against content that “denigrates the social norms, values and culture of the society”.
“Monitoring activities indicate that in the recent time, some broadcast stations have abdicated their editorial responsibilities such that guests and callers on programmes abuse and insult leaders and those in authority freely and without caution,” he said.
“May I please draw your attention to the following provisions of the Broadcasting Code: Section 3.1.: Professional Rules: 3.1.1: No broadcast shall encourage or incite to crime, lead to public disorder or hate, be repugnant to public feelings or contain an offensive reference to any person or organization, alive or dead or generally be disrespectful to human dignity.
“Also, 3.1.19: The broadcast shall not transmit content that denigrates the social norms, values and culture of the society.”
The NBC said while it understands that broadcasters have a duty to hold government and leaders accountable, “this must not be done in abusive language”.
“To denigrate our elders and leaders in abusive terms is not our culture. We respect our leaders as a positive cultural value,” it added.
“We expect Broadcasters, especially anchors to show professionalism in the handling of programmes such that guest or callers that exhibit such tendency are professionally handled.
“The recourse to abusing, denigrating and insulting the President, Governors, MPs and other leaders does not show us as cultured people.”