Global human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has called out the Federal Government for issuing a warning to Arise Television for allegedly using “derogatory and incendiary remarks” on its station.
The Federal Government, through the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), issued a final warning to Arise Television over the use of derogatory and incendiary remarks on its station.
The warning was contained in a letter titled “Preponderance of derogatory and incendiary remarks: final warning” by NBC’s Director General, Dr Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, on October 6, 2023.
The letter urged the TV station to have a delay mechanism to guard against undesirable contents.
The letter, which was addressed to the Chief Executive Officer of Arise Global Media Limited, also urged the TV station to keep to its responsibility of keeping its guests in check.
Reacting to the action, Amnesty International took to its X (formerly Twitter) handle, to criticize the government for using regulations to silence press independence.
The International Rights group said the government was not ready to be held accountable, so they used regulations to get at the media.
The group noted that “Amnesty International condemns the ‘final warning’ issued to @ARISEtv by the FG through National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). Targeting Arise TV simply for doing their work sends the wrong message that Nigerian authorities are not prepared to be held accountable.
“Nigerian authorities must stop the unrelenting quest to silence media organizations like @ARISEtv, which are crucial to ensuring independent and diverse media space in the country and fulfilling people’s right to information.
“Using regulations as a way to silence independent journalism is completely unacceptable. The media in Nigeria should be free to exercise their right to freedom of expression as protected by international law.”
