Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for fines imposed on private broadcasting stations that beamed the EndSARS protests live. In a statement signed by the National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA said the fines were contrary to the provisions of the Constitution, which obligates the media to function as national conscience. NBC had fined Channels Television, African Independent Television (AIT) and Arise Television N3 million each for what it described as “unprofessional coverage” of the protests. xActing Director-General of NBC, Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, announced this at a press conference in Abuja on Monday. MEANWHILE, Mohammed has ruled out the prospect of shutting out the social media in the country, but insists on the social media policy to check fake news and misinformation.

Source: The Guardian October 28, 2020 03:56 UTC