By Ishaya Ibrahim
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has fined Arise TV N2 million for airing a fake Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) probe on the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
Arise TV apologised on Sunday after reporting that INEC was investigating Tinubu over alleged criminal forfeiture of money on offences bordering on narcotics and illicit drugs. INEC denied probing Tinubu.
Tinubu then petitioned NBC to sanction Arise News.
READ ALSO: Tinubu rejects Arise apology, petitions NBC over fake INEC probe
A statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of the council, Mr Bayo Onanuga in Abuja on Monday said that a petition signed by the Special Adviser, Media, Communications and Public Affairs of the PCC, Dele Alake and addressed to the NBC Director-General, Balarabe Shehu Ilelah accused the two television station of breaching broadcast codes with their actions.
In the petition, Alake noted the purported indictment of Tinubu as reported and discussed on Arise News and Channels TV had already been cleared in correspondence between then Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun and the US government.
“The case in question, which did not indict our candidate, has since been overtaken by events after interrogation and correspondences between then Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun in 2003 and the United States government. The US Justice Department in a letter dated 4th February 2003, issued by the Lagos Consulate of the United States Embassy cleared our candidate. The letter was signed by Michael Bonner, the Consulate’s legal attache.
“The Campaign Council was therefore surprised that certain media houses, such as ARISE News and Channels TV among others, went ahead to transmit and broadcast issues purportedly indicating our candidate in violation of section 3,3 I of the Code which says that:
“The Broadcaster shall (a) Ensure that any information given in a programme in whatever form is,
“We believe that the operators of the stations, by their professional standing, should have access to research platforms to verify the information before dishing it to the public,” the petition read.
It further accused both stations of using the already cleared document in their interviews of Festus Keyamo SAN and the spokesman of the opposition PDP respectively.
Both stations, the petition said, went further to broadcast a fake letter in circulation, purportedly issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission, stating that the electoral body was investigating Tinubu.
This was also against the NBC code, which forbids broadcasting fake news in the words of Alake.
“Notwithstanding the broadcast of the falsehood peddled by opposition elements, ARISE TV and Channels TV went ahead to transmit and circulate a fake letter insinuating that the Independent National Electoral Commission has initiated an investigation of the APC Presidential candidate premised on the fake letter in circulation.