NBC slams N5 million fine on Trust TV over a documentary on terrorists

The National Broadcasting Commission has slammed a fine of N5 million on Trust Television Network (Trust TV) over the broadcast of the documentary titled “Nigeria’s Banditry: The Inside Story”, which was aired by the station on the 5th of March, 2022.

In a statement released, the management of Trust TV said the fine was communicated in a letter signed by the NBC Director General, Balarabe Shehu Illela who noted that the fine was imposed on Trust TV because its broadcast of the said documentary contravened sections of the National Broadcasting Code.

The statement released by Trust TV reads in part

“While we are currently studying the Commission’s action and weighing our options, we wish to state unequivocally that as a television station, we believe we were acting in the public interest by shedding light on the thorny issue of banditry and how it is affecting millions of citizens of our country.

The documentary traces the root of the communal tensions and systemic inadequacies which led to the armed conflict that is setting the stage for another grand humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. It presents insights into the intersection of injustice, ethnicity and bad governance as drivers of the conflict. It also aggregates voices of experts and key actors towards finding solutions, including those of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and Senator Saidu Mohammed Dansadau, who hails from one the worst-hit communities in Zamfara State.

Other experts featured in the documentary include scholars like Professor Abubakar Saddique of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Dr. Murtala Ahmed Rufai of the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, who have both studied the subject of banditry for a long period.

The documentary also brought to the fore the horrifying stories of victims of banditry.”

Recall that on Thursday, July 28, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, announced plans by the Federal government to sanction the BBC and Trust TV for what he termed the ”glorification of terrorists” through their documentaries.