By Chinenye Anuforo

The National Broadcasting Commission has  sanctioned Trust Television Network (Trust TV) a fine of N5 million over a documentary titled “Nigeria’s Banditry: The Inside Story”, which was aired by the station on the 5th of March, 2022.  

In a statement, the management of Media Trust Group said that the fine was communicated to the media firm in a letter signed by the NBC Director General, Balarabe Shehu Illela.

The DG said the fine was imposed on Trust TV because its broadcast of the said documentary contravened sections of the National Broadcasting Code.

Trust TV further in the statement said they are currently studying the Commission’s action and weighing their options.

“We wish to state unequivocally that as a television station, we believe we were acting in the public interest by shedding light on the thorny issue of banditry and how it is affecting millions of citizens of our country.

The documentary traces the root of the communal tensions and systemic inadequacies which led to the armed conflict that is setting the stage for another grand humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. It presents insights into the intersection of injustice, ethnicity and bad governance as drivers of the conflict. It also aggregates voices of experts and key actors towards finding solutions, including those of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and Senator Saidu Mohammed Dansadau, who hails from one the worst-hit communities in Zamfara State.

“Other experts featured in the documentary include scholars like Professor Abubakar Saddique of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Dr. Murtala Ahmed Rufai of the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, who have both studied the subject of banditry for a long period.