The Federal Government has announced that it will sanction Trust TV, a television station owned by the Media Trust Group, and the BBC for their coverage of bandits in the North.
In separate documentaries, Trust TV and BBC Africa Eye exposed the activities of the gangs, making life difficult for Nigerians.
Speaking with journalists on Thursday, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed stated that the documentaries promoted terrorism in the country.
The minister stated that the appropriate regulatory body was already investigating the infractions, and appropriate sanctions would be imposed on both platforms.
“There is a regulatory body regulating broadcasting, which is the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and they are also aware of these two incidents.
“They are looking at which part of the Broadcasting Code has been violated by the BBC and Trust TV. The media is the oxygen that terrorists and bandits use to breathe.
“When otherwise reputable platforms like the BBC can give their platform to terrorists showing their faces as if they are Nollywood stars, it is unfortunate.
“I want to assure them that they will not get away with it, appropriate sanctions will be meted to both the BBC and the Trust Tv,” Mohammed said.
The minister further stated that, despite the BBC being a foreign medium and not subject to NBC regulations, sanctions will still be meted out to the medium.
“Let me assure you that they will not get away with the naked glorification of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria. If they are not registered in Nigeria and are only sending their signals to Nigeria, we will request that they stop sending the signals.
“I know that during the IRA days, the BBC would not dare do what they are doing now in Nigeria. It is because there is a country called Nigeria that they are operating here,” he said.
The management of Media Trust Group is yet to receive any official communication from NBC or the Ministry of Information.
