Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a non-profit organization focused on promoting freedom of expression and access to information, has demanded that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) disclose the details of 302 broadcasting stations reportedly sanctioned in the four months after campaigns for the 2023 elections began in September 2022.
MRA made the demand under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011, following an announcement made by the NBC Director General, Malam Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, during a media briefing he held in Abuja on February 9, 2023. Ilelah reported that out of the 740 functional stations in Nigeria, the Commission had sanctioned 302 stations between September 28, 2022, and January 31, 2023, for various offenses.
In an FOI request addressed to the Commission’s Director-General and signed by Ms. Maimuna Momoh, a Programme Officer, MRA asked the NBC to provide a list of the 302 stations sanctioned, including details such as their names and locations. MRA also requested information about the individual or entity that made the complaint against each station, the date of the complaint, and the details of the complaint or allegation made against each station.
MRA further demanded copies of all correspondence by NBC to the stations that were accused of wrongdoing, as well as copies of all correspondence from the stations in response to the allegations against them. The organization also asked NBC for a list of all broadcast stations that were investigated and absolved of any wrongdoing between September 28, 2022, and January 31, 2023, and the details of the sanctions imposed on each of the 302 stations.
According to MRA, the disclosure of this information is crucial to ensuring transparency and accountability in the regulation of the broadcast industry, particularly in the run-up to the 2023 elections. The organization has called on NBC to respond promptly to its FOI request and provide the requested information to enable it to carry out its oversight functions.