Posted by The National Broadcasting Commission, or NBC, has warned Nigerian broadcast stations against violating relevant legislation governing election coverage.
This was said in a statement signed by NBC Director General, Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, who expressed great worry over how politicians have thrown ethics to the breeze by exploiting the broadcast media in a manner that breaches the rules of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
Ilelah, who emphasized that hate speech, provocative, disparaging, and divisive remarks are prohibited by the code, cautioned that any radio station found to have breached the code will face punishment.
“The NBC Act CAP N11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, provides in the Third Schedule that ‘A Licensee shall be liable for the content of the station’s broadcast,” according to the statement.
The NBC president advised broadcasters not to enable politicians, their supporters, and sympathizers to use their platforms and facilities to broadcast anything that could lead to the collapse of law and order.
Ilelah advised broadcasters to act as peace agents by sticking to the values of accountability, accuracy, and neutrality.