Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP, )has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to instruct the Information and Culture Minister . Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, to withdraw the “last warning” and threat to revoke the licences of some broadcast stations.
The commission had also threatened to shut down the stations over their coverage of elections and post-election matters.
SERAP said that if the requested action was not taken within 40 hours of the receipt and publication of its letter, it would take appropriate legal actions to compel the Federal Government to comply with its request in the interest of the public.
SERAP recalled that the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission,( NBC) Mr. Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, reportedly gave the commission’s “last warning to broadcast stations”.
In a letter, by its Deputy Director Mr. Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said that the ‘last warning’ and threat by the NBC, if not immediately withdrawn, would limit freedom of expression and the ability of broadcast stations to cover important issues around the 2023 General Eection.
The organisation argued that political expression remained a fundamental right and that the threat by the NBC had created a significant risk to legitimate expression .
