Asks President Tinubu to intervene
Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has expressed concern over a recent directive by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on code breaches in news, current affairs, and political programmes.
It also urged President Bola Tinubu to direct Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, and the NBC to immediately withdraw the ‘Formal Notice’ issued last week which threatened sanctions against broadcast stations and presenters on vague and unjustified grounds, including the expression of ‘personal opinions,’ alleged ‘bullying or intimidation’ of guests, and failure to ‘maintain neutrality.”
SERAP also urged the President to “direct the Minister of Information and the NBC to immediately abstain from imposing prior censorship on broadcast stations and Nigerian journalists, including presenters and to allow them to freely carry out their constitutional responsibilities and exercise their fundamental human rights.”
SERAP added the President should “direct the NBC to urgently prepare amendments to the unlawful sections of the Broadcasting Code relied upon by the NBC, and to ensure that these provisions comply fully with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s international human rights obligations.”
In the letter, dated April 18, 2026 and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation wrote: “The NBC’s notice represents a dangerous attempt to impose prior censorship on the media and suppress legitimate journalistic expression.
“The Nigerian Constitution and international human rights law protect both the absolute right to hold opinions and the qualified right to express ideas of all kinds. Journalistic opinion is protected expression.”
Specifically, Oluwadare observed: “Section 1.10.3 amounts to a form of prior censorship or restraint. Such a blanket restriction fails the legal tests of legality, necessity and proportionality required in a democratic society.
“The NBC’s reliance on multiple vague provisions of the Broadcasting Code to classify a wide range of presenter conduct as ‘Class B breaches’ attracting sanctions is contrary to the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights law.”
Citing Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, he said these guarantee the right to ‘receive and impart ideas and information without interference.’”
According to him, while the prohibition of misuse of broadcast platforms by political actors is a legitimate concern, it does not justify sweeping or repressive regulatory measures that infringe on fundamental human rights.
Quoting Sections 3.3.1(b), 3.4.1(b), 5.3.3(b), 3.1.1, 3.11.1(a), 5.4.1(f), 3.11.1(b), and 5.5.1(b) of the Broadcasting Code to classify a wide range of presenter conduct, including the expression of opinion, alleged intimidation of guests, or denial of ‘fair hearing’—as a Class B breach attracting sanctions, according to Oluwadare is unconstitutional and unlawful.
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