The President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has ordered television and radio stations in Nigeria not to divulge “details” of the activities of bandits, terrorists and kidnappers in their reports.
A letter dated July 7 by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) directed radio and television stations not to “glamourise the nefarious activities of insurgents” during their daily Newspaper Reviews.
As an unwritten custom, broadcast stations in Nigeria review Newspaper headlines daily before their breakfast shows.
But the NBC, in a letter dated July 7, 2021, issued to television and radio stations, stressed the need for “caution” by broadcasters while reporting security challenges in the country.
The letter titled, ‘Newspaper Reviews And Current Affairs Programmes: A Need For Caution’, was signed by the Director, Broadcast Monitoring, Francisca Aiyetan, on behalf of the new Director-General of the Commission, Balarabe Ilelah.
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A copy of the letter seen by Newsflash Nigeria, partly reads, “Headlines of most Newspapers on a daily basis are replete with security topics. While bringing information on security to the doorsteps of Nigerians is a necessity, there is a need for caution as too many details may have an adverse implication on the efforts of our security officials who are duty-bound to deal with the insurgency.
“The Commission, therefore, enjoins broadcasters to collaborate with the government in dealing with the security challenges by;
“Not glamourising the nefarious activities of insurgents, terrorists, kidnappers, bandits etc.
“Advising guests and/or analysts on programmes not to polarise the citizenry with divisive rhetoric, in driving home their point.
