Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Balarabe Ilelah has asked media platforms to adhere strictly to the regulations of the commission.
According to Ilelah, the commission will not hesitate to “keep on summoning anyone who goes contrary to NBC code”.
Recently, the anchors of Channels Television were summoned by the commission over an interview granted to Samuel Ortom, the governor of Benue state.
The governor while featuring as a guest on Sunrise Daily had accused President Buhari of trying to “Fulanise” Nigeria.
Reacting to the development, NBC said Channels Television violated six of its rules during the broadcast of the interview, and that the anchors did not “thoroughly interrogate” the governor.
Speaking on Monday when members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) visited the commission’s office in Abuja, the Ilelah said the NBC will continue to regulate and sanitise the media.
He said: “As leaders of your various reputable and responsible organisation, I want you to tell your members that nobody is above the law.
“All of us must live within the coverage of the law and we must be held accountable. Journalism is a profession that has ethics, we are supposed to operate within the ethics of the profession.
“You came to the commission based on some reports from the social media. As a journalist, I know that news coming from social media are not verified and normally when you get information from anywhere, you need to verify the source of the news.
“But when the news had no source and then you went again and keep on spreading the news, that is not journalism.
“We are going to keep on fighting people that are spreading fake news, the commission will not be scared and will keep on summoning anyone who goes contrary to NBC code.
“NBC is not here to suppress press freedom, but to guide the press. Our duty is to make sure that everybody is given a fair playing ground so that you can say whatever you want to say that is according to the law.”
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