TheCable

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has condemned what it called a ‘needless clampdown’ by the federal government on ‘Idon Mikiya’, a current affairs programme on Vision FM, an Abuja-based radio station.

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) had imposed a N5 million fine on the radio station, for “discussing appointments” at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

The commission also suspended the programme on which the “discussion” took place for six months.

Auwal Rafsanjani, executive director of CISLAC, in a statement he signed, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to call the NBC to order, saying the intolerance and impunity are worsening.

“We call on the administration to urgently lift the suspension and uphold the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and relevant international obligations which talk about freedom of the press and the right of the media to hold the government accountable to the people,” the statement reads.

Rafsanjani said the rush to impose monetary fines and suspension of broadcast stations by the NBC exposes the government’s illicit desire to gag the press, block free speech and turn Nigeria into a police state.

He reminded the administration that its emergence is as a result of press freedom and the vibrancy of the civil society in creating a safe civil space, adding that it is unpatriotic for today’s political actors to seek to destroy the ladder they climbed to power.

He therefore advised the NBC to rescind this action and handle its regulatory role more professionally and with a lot of restraint.