The British Broadcasting Corporation, (BBC) has taken a swipe at the federal government following its threat to sanction it over the documentary that exposed banditry in Zamfara State but which the authorities in Nigeria glorifies terrorism.
Terrorism reporting: SERAP gives Buhari 48 hours to withdraw threat to sanction BBC, Daily Trust
It will be recalled that the Federal Government through the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) imposed a fine of N5million on the multimedia wing of Media Trust Limited for the documentary, titled “Nigeria’s Banditry: The Inside Story”.
Others fined were Multichoice Nigeria Limited, NTA-Startimes Limited, and Telcom Satellite Limited (TSTV) – N5million each.
The NBC said that the fine was imposed because the media outlets glorified banditry and terrorism in their documentaries.
In response, BBC alleged that the government wanted to hush the media, while also adding that they were trying to trivialize the magnitude of the security crisis that plagued the nation.
They averred that the Nigerian government was trying to force the media to underreport the extent of damage done by non-state actors (NSAs).
“We published another one (documentary), and will do more because it’s about the people suffering”, Daily Post quoted one of the sources as saying.
They (government) did not impose a fine on us because they knew they could not do so.
What they can do is write to the agency that regulates us, the Office of Communications (Ofcom).
They definitely would ask Ofcom to take disciplinary actions; they cannot do anything other than that.
“After Trust TV spoke with the victims, we interviewed the NSAs – Ado Aleru, the one turbaned, and Abu Sanni who led the Jangebe school attack,” the source added.
Source:GWG news
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