COALITION CONDEMNS FINING OF TVC AND ARISE FOR ALLEGEDLY BROADCASTING HATE SPEECH

February 13, 2023: The Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) has accused the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) of breaching the principle of fair hearing in the sanctioning of Television Continental (TVC) and Arise TV, which were fined N2 million each on February 3, 2023 for allegedly airing hate speech.

According to the report, the NBC sanctioned Continental Broadcasting Service Limited, owners of TVC, and Arise Global Media Limited, which owns Arise TV, N2 million for allegedly airing inflammatory, derogatory, and unfair comments at campaign rallies of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

While it is clear that hate speech antithetical to professional journalistic practices and inconsistent with democratic principles of inclusivity, equity and justice, it is also essential to understand that allegations of hate speech should not be made lightly and any organization or individual accused of hate speech should be given adequate opportunity to defend themselves against the charge.

For an evolving democracy like Nigeria’s, the airing of hate speech by a broadcaster would obviously be considered a huge breach of the agreed standards of professional journalism practice, which are essential for the mass media to effectively perform their core function of informing society on a range of issues and ensuring all shades of opinions are given access to the media platform.

However, it is equally imperative that in addressing any allegation that a broadcaster had violated established professional standards by broadcasting hate speech, a regulatory authority must be guided by the constitutional and democratic principles of fair hearing, equity, justice and fair play.

The suspicion that a broadcaster has aired hate speech cannot give NBC the right and power to be the accuser, prosecutor, and judge.

We are of the opinion that the NBC, having played the role of the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge in this instance, has breached the right to fair hearing for the media organizations that it has sanctioned.

If indeed hate speech was the case as allegedly reported, the decent and appropriate thing to do would have been to prosecute the alleged culprits in a court of law vested with jurisdiction in such a matter, rather than making a scapegoat out of the media organizations that were performing their professional and constitutional functions and merely provided an opportunity for citizens to air their views in the context of an electioneering campaign.

The CWPPF condemns the sanctions imposed on the two television stations without due process and calls on NBC to drop the fine against TVC and Arise Tv as this encroaches on the idea of a free press and free speech.

The Coalition also calls on the Federal Government and the NBC to work with other stakeholders in the media and broadcasting sectors to carry out a review of the ‘’Hate speech Prohibition’’ provision in the Nigeria Broadcasting Code as the interpretation given to hate speech in the current code is offensive to free speech, which is an essential part of the democratic process.

Signed:

CWPPF members

Premium Times

Order Paper Advocacy Initiative

The Cable

Daily Trust Newspaper

Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism

Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)

African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)

Civic Media Lab

Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC)

International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR)