NBC Penalizes Trust TV N5 Million for Documentary

The National Broadcasting Commission has fined Trust Television Network (Trust TV) N5 million for airing the documentary “Nigeria’s Banditry: The Inside Story,” which was broadcast by the station on March 5, 2022.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the management of Trust TV stated that the media company was informed of the fine in a letter signed by Balarabe Shehu Illela, the director general of NBC.

Illela had said the fine was imposed on Trust TV because its broadcast of the said documentary contravened sections of the National Broadcasting Code.

Trust TV further said, “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.”