Former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode has condemned the suspension and fining of Channels Television by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
Naija News reports that the NBC on Monday suspended Channels TV with a fine of N5 million for breaching the broadcast code.
Reacting, Fani-Kayode stated that the censorship of the media is unacceptable in a democracy.
He wrote: “It is wrong for NBC to sanction channels tv simply because they allowed the spokesman of IPOB, Mr. Emma Powerful, to answer some pertinent and vital questions about the attack on the home of the Governor of Imo state. Censorship of the media is unacceptable in a democracy.”
The commission accused the TV station of allowing a leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to make secessionist and inciting declarations on air without being cautioned or reprimanded by the station.
The NBC described it as contrary to the broadcast code.
It also accused the station of allowing the guest speaker to allegedly make derogatory and misleading statements about the Nigerian Army, despite being proscribed by a court of law.