The new National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Code and Memo threatening to sanction any broadcast that denigrates, disrespects, insults, and abuses president, governors, lawmakers, and other elders and leaders in authority, must be withdrawn urgently.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari today urged him to instruct Mr Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture to do so.
SERAP also asked President Buhari to “instruct Mr Mohammed and the NBC to immediately rescind the fine of N5m imposed on Nigeria Info 99.3 FM radio station.
The fine was imposed following comments by a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Malafia, in which he alleged a serving governor is a commander of Boko Haram.
Malafia later said he picked up the information from the market and apologised to the DSS last week.
The NBC thereafter issued a stern warning to journalists and broadcast stations.
It stated: “To denigrate our governors, lawmakers, elders and leaders in abusive terms is not our culture. We respect our leaders as a positive cultural value. The Commission may be compelled to impose sanctions where stations fail to curb this practice.”
In SERAP’s letter dated 15 August and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “Rather than pushing to enforce a culture to respect president, governors, lawmakers, elders, and other leaders, Mr Muhammed and the NBC should use their entrusted public office and mandates to promote a culture of public debate, access to information, transparency and accountability in government.”
“Nothing can be more destructive to people’s exercise of basic human rights, and to democratic politics than the suppression of the media, and media freedom. The alleged ‘cultural codes’, which Mr Muhammed and the NBC are now using to punish journalists, broadcast stations and other Nigerians are patently contrary to the public interests.”
“The implementation of the code and the memo would further deter meaningful citizens’ engagement, and have a chilling effect on Nigerians’ human rights, particularly the rights to freedom of expression and access to information, undermine the idea of representative democracy, as well as make public officials less responsive to the people.”
The letter, a copy of which was sent to Mr Lai Muhammed, read in part: “We would be grateful if the requested action and measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter.