NBC fines Trust TV N5m for alleged ‘glorification’ of terrorism

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has slammed a fine of N5 million on the broadcast arm of Media Trust Limited, Trust Television Network (Trust TV) for alleged “glorification” of terrorism.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said last Thursday the Federal Government would sanction the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Trust TV for allegedly fuelling terrorism with their reporting.

He accused the media platforms of airing documentaries “glorifying and fueling terrorism and banditry in Nigeria.”

The management of Trust TV in a statement issued on Wednesday said the company was sanctioned for airing a documentary titled: “Nigeria’s Banditry: The Inside Story,” on March 5.

In the letter signed by the Director-General of NBC, Balarabe Shehu Illela and addressed to Trust TV, the commission said the broadcast of the said documentary contravened sections of the National Broadcasting Code.

Read also:Abductors of ex-NBC director, daughter demand N70m ransom

The statement read: “While we are currently studying the Commission’s action and weighing our options, we wish to state unequivocally that as a television station, we believe we were acting in the public interest by shedding light on the thorny issue of banditry and how it is affecting millions of citizens of our country.

“The documentary traces the root of the communal tensions and systemic inadequacies which led to the armed conflict that is setting the stage for another grand humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. It presents insights into the intersection of injustice, ethnicity and bad governance as drivers of the conflict.

“It also aggregates voices of experts and key actors towards finding solutions, including those of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and Senator Saidu Mohammed Dansadau, who hails from one the worst-hit communities in Zamfara State.

“Other experts featured in the documentary include scholars like Professor Abubakar Saddique of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Dr. Murtala Ahmed Rufai of the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, who have both studied the subject of banditry for a long period.”

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