Nigeria to sanction BBC, Trust TV over alleged ‘glorification’ of terrorism

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said on Thursday the Federal Government would sanction the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for allegedly fuelling terrorism with its reportage.

Mohammed, who disclosed this to journalists in Abuja, added that the broadcasting arm of Media Trust Limited, the publisher of Daily Trust Newspaper, Trust TV, would face a similar measure for granting interviews to a bandit kingpin, Shehu Rekeb.

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

The minister added that BBC and Trust TV had become accomplices to terrorists and bandits in the name of reporting.

He slammed the BBC for failing to uphold the same standards and tenets applicable in the United Kingdom.

Mohammed said: “There is a regulatory body regulating broadcasting which is the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and they are also aware of these two incidents.

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“They are looking at which part of the Broadcasting Code has been violated by the BBC and Trust TV.

“Media is the oxygen that terrorists and bandits use to breathe.

“When otherwise reputable platforms like BBC can give their platform to terrorists showing their faces as if they are Nollywood stars, it is unfortunate.

“I want to assure them that they will not get away with it, appropriate sanctions will be meted to both the BBC and the Trust TV.

“Let me assure you that they will not get away with the naked glorification of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria.”

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