By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
On February 22, 2021, popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, claimed that attacks on Fulani communities are perpetrated by non-Muslim soldiers, during an interview on Channels TV with Seun Okinbaloye.
He claimed that the information was provided to him by a soldier serving at the 1 Mechanized Division.
The Gumi’s claim on television was a follow up to his charge to Fulani herdsmen that their real enemies are non-Muslim soldiers.
He said: “The soldiers that are not Muslims on the inside, just to cause the crisis, they are the ones carrying out these killings.”
In the reckoning of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Gumi’s interview did not violate any of its code.
But on August 24, 2021, the same Channels TV interviewed Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and a retired military chief, Naval Commodore Kunle Olawunmi. Their comments were considered a violation of the NBC code.
Ortom had said: “Mr President is pushing me to think that what they say about him, that he has a hidden agenda in this country is true because it is very clear that he wants to fulanise but he is not the first Fulani president. Shagari was a Fulani President, Yar’ Adua was a Fulani President and they were the best in history. But President Buhari is the worst President when it comes to issues of security and keeping his promises.”
For Olawunmi, a former intelligence chief, the NBC frowned at his comment that terrorists’ backers are in Buhari’s government.
He said: “Boys (terrorists) that we arrested mentioned names of people that are in the government now. Some of them are governors, some of them are in the Nigerian Senate, and some of them are ministers. The Department of State Service (DSS) knows them. have interrogated a high-ranking member of this government on the issue of Boko Haram in 2007/2008 and he was found culpable.”.
Channels TV has now been queried by NBC for airing the live interviews. The NBC listed five violations it claimed Channels TV breached during the interviews.
Nigerians are now infuriated with NBC as selective in the application of its code
Reno Omokri, a former social media aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan said on Twitter: “Channels had an interview with Sheikh Gumi, where Gumi repeated his lie that Christian soldiers were behind killings of Fulanis suspected of banditry. NBC did not punish @channelstv. Now, NBC wants to punish them for Ortom’s TRUTHFUL interview? Where is the justice?”
@DemolaRewaju said: “Everything said on ChannelsTV yesterday morning is already in public domain. The APC regime didn’t act on the intel to investigate deeper and curb insecurity in the North but the DSS is inviting presenters for questioning. More interested in covering truth than facing it.”
For Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), the harassment of Channels TV has to stop. It said: “We’re suing to end the harassment of Channels TV simply for carrying out its professional duties, if the unlawful NBC query issued to the station is not withdrawn within 24 hours.”