By Ayo Kehinde
Rising from its meeting in Port Harcourt, the River State capital at the weekend, the Standing Committee of the Nigerian Guild of Editors NGE condemned the destruction of media houses and attacks on Journalists by irate youths during the violence that followed the shooting of #end SARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos
It also called for the review of the National Broadcasting Act.
The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC had slammed N9m fine on three broadcasting stations, Channels, AriseTV and the African Independent Television, AIT on the grounds that they violated sections of the broadcasting code by airing unsubstantiated materials on the youth protest against police brutality.
According to the Guild;“the attack on the media and journalists during the crisis, whereby scores of vehicles were burnt at the premises of several of them, namely Television Continental (TVC) Lagos, The Nation Newspapers in Lagos, The Chronicles in Calabar and in Lokoja where a correspondent of The Sun Newspapers was shot,” is condemnable.
On the NBC, it said that in as much as the “Guild respects the disciplinary mandate of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over broadcasting stations’ operations, it also implores the government to always take a second look at perceived infractions by some stations before applying sanctions. Fines should be the last resort.
“The Guild therefore, calls for an immediate review of the NBC Act, in view of current realities in the media world. We know the government is already working on this but, this action must be expedited in the interest of professionalism, fairness and justice.
In a statement signed by its President, Mr Mustapha Isah and General Secretary, Mrs Mary Atolagbe, the Guild said, “having examined recent unrest across the nation in the past few weeks, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) condemns the hijack of the peaceful #EndSARS protest by hoodlums in many states.
It stated; “the five-point demands of the peaceful protesters were genuine and patriotic but the hijack led to arson, looting, destruction and bestial killings of law-abiding citizens and security agents, which portrayed Nigeria in a bad light.
“We condemn the looting and burning of some public and private property, including police stations, which came on the heels of protests; after having taken an anarchic dimension in many states and forcing governors to declare a curfew.
The Guild also condemned “the display of aggression by the government against peaceful protesters, especially at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State.
“Given that the media is also just coming out of a distressed status caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, these unjustified attacks by hoodlums will in no small way affect the financial status of many media establishments negatively’’.
The Guild believes the government has a mandate to ensure that the media does not operate in an insecure environment and, also; Nigerians must not be seen to be engaging in acts inimical to media effectiveness in informing, educating and entertaining the public.
“We commend the Nigerian Government for acknowledging the demands of the peaceful #EndSARS protesters and call for a genuine commitment to implementing policies aimed at alleviating the suffering of, not only youths, but Nigerians in general.
Now that many state governments have set up panels to investigate what went amiss during the crisis, this is indeed, the time for these panels to look into real grievances of the people, especially acts of human rights violation during the crisis.
The Guild demanded absolute transparency and accountability in the outcomes of the ongoing panels and would detest a cover up of those found culpable in human rights violations against Nigerians, as recorded with previous panels
It urged President Buhari to sign the new Electoral Law as Nigerians prepare for the 2023 general election and appealed to the youths to suspend any further public protest because their point had been made.
“We believe the police are overstretched in the face of security challenges in the country, as manifested in the lynching of policemen by mobs, sometimes in very gruesome circumstances.
“The unfortunate event of these past few weeks should propel the government to expedite action on police reforms, as promised by the President and, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, he should immediately restore public order.
