THE International Press Centre – IPC, has accused the National Broadcasting Commission – NBC, of being biassed.
NBC recently fined Channels Television N5 million following an interview with the Vice Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Datti-Baba Ahmed.
IPC described NBC’s action as ‘arbitrariness taken too far.’
The commission was reacting to a petition by the Director of Media and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga.
In the petition, Onanuga had demanded that Channels TV be punished over the interview.
“Although the NBC did not disclose the material fact in its announcement of the sanction, the regulatory body acted on a widely publicised petition addressed to it by Mr Bayo Onanuga, Director of Media and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, in which he demanded that the station be punished over the interview in question. The petition was published by many news mediums on March 30th, 2023.
“Barely 24 hours later, the NBC struck. Against the well-established principle of natural justice, which, among others, make fair hearing sacrosanct, NBC did not avail Channels TV the opportunity of putting forward its defence against Mr Onanuga’s allegations before slamming the hefty fine”, the statement said.
According to IPC, NBC acted unfairly and unjustly as it based its heavy-handed decision on the claims of one side only.
“NBC has in this instance again exercised quasi-judicial powers injudiciously, by constituting itself to the prosecutor and the judge over a case brought before it by a third party. In previous instances, it has also additionally been the accuser.
“It must be stressed that Mr Onanuga is not just anybody.
“He speaks for the incoming president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Ordinarily, this should have informed the need for NBC to act more cautiously instead of exposing itself to the accusation that it has become the ruling government or the ruling party’s willing tool to suppress press freedom.
“Even if, as NBC claims, it acted based on its observation, it was still imperative for it to allow Channels Television to respond to the allegations, especially since that made it the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge”, IPC said.
