The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has
announced that they will begin to censor media houses, starting October 1,
2017.
According to Sahara Reporters, NBC has laid down rules
for media houses in the country to follow.
The rules were reportedly communicated to media houses at a
meeting held on August 10, at NBC’s zonal office at Tafawa Balewa Square,
Lagos.
NBC has said broadcast stations are not permitted to hold discussions
on ongoing court cases.
The commission has said court cases can henceforth only be
discussed at their early stages, and at the final stage, after a judgement has
been given.
This implies that Nigerians will not be allowed to air their
views on all court cases while it is ongoing.
Another rule states that broadcast stations will be fined
N500k for any perceived hate speech expressed by callers during phone-in
programs.
The commission has mandated that broadcast stations use
screeners to censor calls before they are aired live.
The commission also said broadcast stations will be allowed
to have only 5 phone-in shows a day.
The zonal director of NBC Matthew Okoduwa has
said that though the commission understands that Nigerians are frustrated with
the state of the nation, it will not permit such frustrations to be expressed
through hate speech.
Okoduwa blamed presenters and anchors of phone-in shows for
providing an avenue for callers to express hate speech live on air.
Newspaper reviews are also now allowed to be aired just once
a day.
“Newspaper reviews can only be broadcast once a day in a
station. Anything more than that would amount to a breach of the new rule,”
Okoduwa said.
Viewers and listeners have also urged to contribute on
social media, rather than phone-in on television and radio programs.
Also, the cost of phone calls will be borne by the broadcast
station, and not the callers phoning in.
According to Sahara Reporters, some media houses have
expressed concern over the NBC rules.
They have said it means Nigerians will not be allowed to air
their opinions on important issues in the country, including political and
social.
A media practitioner who spoke on the condition of anonymity
said he believes that this will restrict the free speech of Nigerians.
The rules are especially suspicious, as the commission has
not expressly stated what it terms “hate speech.”
The Acting President had on Thursday spoken against
hate speech, saying it is a type of terrorism.
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