Retract fines on broadcasters or face visa ban, group writes NBC’s Idachaba
Concerned Nigerians on Monday petitioned Amstrong Idachaba of the NBC, warning the top regulator to immediately reverse his recent sanctions against broadcasters of face travel restrictions.
Mr. Idachaba fined AIT, Arise and Channels earlier this week, accusing them of sourcing videos from social media in their coverage of #EndSARS.
The stations were fined a combined N9 million, the regulator said, proceeding to separately slam additional charges on AIT for using a video that depicted attempted arson at a church in Abuja.
The fines were widely condemned as illegal, with organisations like SERAP and NUJ seeking its reversal.
Concerned Nigerians joined the demand in a letter to Mr. Idachaba on Thursday.
“If the sanction on these media platforms is not reversed, we will be left with no other option but to write to the US government, UK government and the European Union to place visa ban on you and your immediate family for suppressing press freedom in Nigeria,” the group’s director Deji Adeyanju said in the October 28 letter seen by Peoples Gazette.
A spokesman for NBC did not immediately return requests seeking comments about the letter Thursday morning.
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