The major reason the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC slammed N5 million fine on the Nigeria Info FM has been discovered.
Our finding shows that the fine is connected to the interview the Talk station granted a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailaifa.
The NBC had termed some of the statements of the of Mailaifa as hate speech.
Recall that Mailaifa was interviewed on Monday during the station’s Morning CrossFire.
In the interview, Mailaifa spoke on the killings in Southern Kaduna, one of the parts of the North-West region worst hit by banditry.
The interviewer had asked Mailaifa if the government was unwilling to protect the people of Southern Kaduna, to which he replied that some residents believed the government was sponsoring the killers.
Mailaifa’s words: “Some of us also have our intelligence networks. I have met with some of the bandits; we have met with some of their high commanders – one or two who have repented – they have sat down with us not once, not twice.
“They told us that one of the northern governors is the commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Boko Haram and the bandits are one and the same. They have a sophisticated network. During this lockdown, their planes were moving up and down as if there was no lockdown.
“They were moving ammunition, moving money, and distributing them across different parts of the country.”
Mailafia said Boko Haram had already infiltrated Southern Nigeria, adding that their plan was to spark a second civil war.
A source told our reporter that the DSS allegedly prompted the NBC to sanction the station.
The Zonal Coordinator of the NBC, Chibuike Ogwumike, said the station breached the NBC code of conduct.
READ ALSO: NBC Slams N5m Fine On Nigeria Info FM Over Alleged Inciting Views
But he declined comments on the type of sanction to be meted out on the station, saying only the director-general of the commission could talk about it.
However, The Punch reports that it obtained a letter signed by Ogwumike and addressed to broadcast stations, saying the NBC monitoring team had recently observed a breach of its code.
The NBC said it expected broadcasters to show professionalism in the handling of programmes, saying, “The recourse to abusing, denigrating and insulting the President, Governors, MPs and other leaders does not show us as cultured people.”
Though the letter was dated August 3, some of the stations reportedly received it between Tuesday and Wednesday, this week.