Human Rights Radio Station has been suspended by National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on the grounds of violating broadcasting codes and betrayal of the public’s trust.
The suspension was as a result of the physical assault meted on an interviewee by the radio show host, Ahmed Isah, otherwise known as “ordinary president,”.
The assault was captured in the British Broadcasting Commission (BBC)’s investigative programme, Africa Eye, where he was seen to have physically assaulted an interviewee during his Berekete family show.
NBC announced that the suspension of the broadcaster’s license, which would last for one month, would be effective from May 31st 2021.
“The commission states however that the action of the broadcaster is in clear violation of the broadcasting code and a betrayal of the confidence reposed on him by the people and Government of Nigeria on whose behalf he holds the trust,” said the NBC.
The NBC faulted the actions of the “ordinary president,” citing Section 0.1.1.2.1 of the Broadcasting Code that held broadcasters to a standard of “promoting accepted civic and social responsibilities and respect for the dignity of man.”
The Commission also acknowledged that it had “over the years, advised, warned and fined the station” over repeated cases of outright abuse of broadcast ethics.
NBC also noted that it had conducted training sessions for the station and the host, Ahmed Isah of the Berekete show in particular.
Mr. Isah who was identified in the BBC ‘Africa Eye’ documentary as a ‘human rights advocate’, reportedly apologized for his actions after the documentary was aired and knowledge of the assault made public.
Comments are closed.