Brave Dickson
The Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists has condemned threats by the federal government to punish the British Broadcasting Corporation and Trust TV for airing what allegedly glorified terrorism in the country.
In an interview with our correspondent, the State Chairman of NUJ, Job Stanley Job maintained that the FG does not have the right to punish media organisations as such would amount to an attack on press freedom.
The state NUJ chairman, however, cautioned BBC and other media houses to desist from promoting what would impact negatively on the society, urging the media to practice developmental journalism.
You recall that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had threatened that the government would punish the British Broadcasting Corporation and Trust TV over what it described as unprofessional airing of different documentaries which glorified terrorists and capable of fuelling terrorism in the country.
According to the minister, the federal government had taken note of ‘’the unprofessional documentary by the BBC, Africa Eye, where interviews were granted to bandit warlords and terror gangs, thereby promoting terror in the country.’’
The state NUJ said, “the press was designed to be independent but should be careful on what it disseminates to the public in order not to ruin the society it supposed to build.
“The FG would have warned BBC and others on the kind of content they are disseminating to the public not to threaten them with punishment for doing their constitutional job.”
