The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has ordered all Television and Radio Stations in Nigeria to suspend the use of the microblogging Twitter.
Acting Director-General of the NBC, Prof Armstrong Idachaba, said on Monday in a statement that it will be unpatriotic for any broadcaster in Nigeria to continue to patronise the suspended Twitter as a source of its information and called for strict compliance.
While advising television and radio stations to de-install their Twitter handles, Idachaba said “desist from using Twitter as a source (UGC) of information gathering for News and programmes presentation especially Phone-in.”
He noted that the directive is in line with Section 2(1) of the NBC Act, which entrusts the Commission with the responsibility to ensure strict adherence to the national laws, rules and regulations.
Idachaba further cited section 3.11.2 of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code which provides that “the broadcaster shall ensure that law enforcement is upheld at all times in a matter depicting that law and order are socially superior to or more desirable than Crime and Anarchy.
“Attention is also drawn to section 5.6.3 of The Code which requires Broadcasters to be mindful of materials that may cause disaffection, incite to panic or rift in the society in the use of a User Generated Content (UGC).”
The NBC directive is coming after the federal government’s ban on Twitter activities in Nigeria following the microblogging platform’s removal of President Buhari’s controversial civil war tweet. Last week.
