NIGERIA MEDIA MONITOR

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#03-09   MONDAY MARCH 2, 1998


*	TWO MEDIA MANAGERS ASSAULTED, SUSPENDED
*	GOVERNMENT PLANS A REVIEW OF MEDIA REGISTRATION FEE
*	COUP STORY: WARNING CONTINUES
*	MUCH ADO ABOUT BROADCASTING LICENCE.



NEWSREEL
MEDIA MANAGERS ASSAULTED, SUSPENDED
Two media managers have been suspended on the orders of Navy
Commander Anthony Onyearugbulem, the military administrator of Ondo
State. Mrs. Dunni Fagbayino and Mr. Tunde Yusuff, general manager and
director of finance/administrator respectively of Ondo State
Television (ODTV), were ordered suspended from duty while a probe
panel examines the activities of the organization. ODTV is owned and
controllled by the Ondo State government.

On 20 February 1998, Navy Commander Onyearugbulem's driver, a chief
petty officer and other state house operatives drove into the
premises of ODTV.  They assaulted and arrested Yusuff in relation to
a disciplinary action taken against Aji Okpe, a member of the
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) attached the television station.

Reports said the management of the corporation had withheld Okpe's
monthly allowance of N1000 (about US$12) because he had missed work.
Rather than lodge his complaint with the directorate of the NYSC (his
employer), Okpe took his case to the Government House (which is the
military administrator's office). Government House operatives ordered
the arrest of Yusuff.

On learning of Yusuf's arrests, Fagbayibo went to Government House
hoping to secure his release. She was assaulted by Navy Commander
Onyearugbulem's driver when she arrived.

On 22 February 1998, armed soldiers invaded the television station,
ransacked the editorial offices and took away news bulletins prepared
for the evening news, which contained condemnations of the assaults
by the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

In his first public reaction to the incident, Navy Commander
Onyearugbulem said he had set up a 5-man probe panel headed by an
army Lieutenant Colonel to look into the incident. He later expanded
the panel's mandate to include the financial activities of the
corporation since Fagbayibo assumed office over a year ago. He also
directed that both the general manager and director should be on
suspension while the probe lasts.
Government Plans Review of Media Registration Fee
The Federal Government is planning a downward review of the
registration fees stipulated under Decree 43 of 1993. 

During a familiarisation visit to the Newspaper Registration Board on
February 23, Information Minister, Chief Ikeobasi Mokelu, asked the
board to evolve a flexible legal framework for the review of the
newspaper registration fees in response to the dictates of market
forces.

The Newspaper Registration Board was said to have earlier submitted a
proposal for the review following incessant criticism and agitation
by the press.

Among other criticised provisions, Decree 43 which established the
Board, stipulated the payment of N250,000 (about $3,000) before any
print media can be registered to operate.

COUP:  JOURNALISTS WARNED AGAIN
The Defence Headquarters has again warned journalists to desist from
any form of analysis on the alleged coup plot by some top military
personnels and the subsequent trial of the suspects by the Special
Military Tribunal sitting in Jos.  The acting Director of Defence
Information (DDI) Col. Godwin Ugbo told journalists that careless
analysis of statements, issues or events relating to the coup could
get journalists into trouble.

Ugbo however commended the journalists who covered the inauguration
session of the Special Military Tribunal trying the suspects.
According to him, "The authorities are happy the way you
(journalists) carried out your jobs in Jos.  You did very well but I
want to reiterate my earlier warning to you.  You can write your
opinion but not what this man did or did not do.  Don't analyse
anything.  You heard what he (The Chief of General staff, Gen.
Oladipo Diya, a prime suspect) said when he was  addressing the
tribunal.  He was not addressing you.  The statement was not made to
you. It is always good to keep away from trouble. Journalism is good
if you follow the rules. Don't allow the human rights groups to spoil
your profession".

He said warning became necessary because four journalists (Kunle
Ajibade (The News), Chris Anyanwu (TSM), George Mbah (TELL) and Ben
Charles Obi (Classique)) who were jailed in 1995 were picked up when
the Major General Patrick Aziza-led tribunal was already sitting.

FEATURE
MUCH ADO ABOUT BROADCASTING LICENCE
In recent times, there have been claims and counterclaims about
whether  some broadcast organisations have been licenced to broadcast
or not. This is believed to have ridiculed the Nigeria Broadcasting
Commission which controls the Nigerian broadcast media. This feature
tries to clarify the issue.

The Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has not been as strict as
it ought to over issues of registration of broadcasting outfits, or
so Dr. Bankole Sodipo of Chief G.O Sodipo & Co. seems to think.

And Sodipo, whose firm of attorneys represents Charles Oputa (a.k.a
Charly Boy) in the copyright suit against Multichoice Nigeria
Limited, a multinational broadcasting redistribution company, Details
Nigeria Limited, its subsidiary; ABG,  another broadcasting outlet,
said that much to Dr. Tom Adaba, Director General of the NBC in a
November 11, 1997 letter which was also copied to the Managing
Director of Multichoice.

In the letter, Shodipo reminded Adaba of his responsibilities at NBC:

"Having been vested with powers to administer the Wireless Telegraphy
Act, it is the duty of your commission to ensure among other things
that no one sells any instrument or apparatus used for wireless
telegraphy unless such a person is licensed by the commission.

"Not only is this a duty that can earn your commission revenue, it
will ensure that the goals of the lawmakers are served and the public
protected.  We take the strong view that the activities of
Multichoice is one which can only be conducted with a licence from
you. 

"With reference to the South African-owned company, the Charly Boy
lawyers are disturbed that Nigeria is awash with all kinds of
broadcast equipment, including decoders; that there seems to be no
framework for regulating the influx of these gadgets into the country
and that many of these gadgets need close monitoring which, they
posit, the Broadcasting Commission is not doing.

What irks the lawyers the most is that Victoria Island-based
Multichoice which appears to be the most guilty of this offence is
not even registered to operate broadcasting services.

In a press briefing prior to his going to court, over the copyright
issues, Charly Boy had himself demanded clarification on the same
issues viz:

* Can Multichoice, a company that is not licensed by the Nigerian
Broadcasting Commission, sell decoders which are instruments used for
wireless Telegraphy without the prior licence of the Broadcasting
Commission irrespective of the provisions of the Wireless Telegraphy
Act, 1961?

* Can MultiChoice, a company not licensed by the commission but which
according to its memoradum is a company set up as a subscription/pay
television, act as such by managing channels without a licence from
the Commission irrespective of the provisions of the Broadcasting Act
of 1992?

* Have the operations of Details and MultiChoice not been conducted
in such a way as to avoid the regulation of the broadcasting
Commission?

Dr. Adaba was said to be on his annual leave when journalists called
at his office in Lagos, but Mr. Olalekan Ajia, NBC's public relations
officer, says Multichoice is not a Broadcast station and so could not
be expected to get licence from the NBC.

According to him, Details Nigeria Limited was granted licence during
the regime of ex-president Ibrahim Babangida, on June 10, 1993, as a
broadcast company. He describes Details and other such broadcast
companies as satellite retransmission stations. They can source their
materials from various agencies and then retransmit. He likens the
situation to the way the American-owned Cable News Network (CNN) buys
programmes from a plethora of agencies for retransmission.

In other words, Mr. Ajia contends that Multichoice only sells
programmes to Details without retransmitting because it, MultiChoice,
is not licensed to broadcast. MultiChoice equally sells decoders to
customers to enable them watch the programmes.

The NBC image maker points out that when the commission was set up in
1991, its immediate priority was to ensure that private broadcasting
took off.  The NBC, having recorded an appreciable success in that
regard, he says the body will now focus on controlling the sale of
decoders and broadcast equipment. He says it was not only Multichoice
that was involved in the importation of decoders in the country.
Small enterprises too are into it because there hasn't been any
attempt at restricting importation and ensuring standards but that
the NBC was now set to do this.  If this is done, companies like
Multichoice, Ajia believes, cannot just bring in any decoder into the
country without the approval of the NBC.

However, the public relations officer noted that in the last few
years, control of importation of broadcast equipment has been
enforced even at the ports. This means that companies are usually
told to obtain clearance from the commission before they can clear
their goods.  This also applies to government agencies, he said.

The repeal of the indigenisation decree, he noted, opened the
Nigerian market to foreigners and this has also affected the
broadcast industry.

According to Mr. Ajia, when the NBC was established the duties
hitherto performed by the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL)
concerning broadcasting were taken over by the commission. The same
thing happened as regards the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and
the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).

When reporters got to Multichoice, it seemed there was a standing
order to keep mum over the issue. On further probing, it was also
discovered that Katherine Righi, the public relations officer was
equally on leave.  A source that sought anonymity however confirmed
that Multichoice has no licence from NBC because it does not need to
do that. Reason? The South African multinational company is not a
broadcasting company.

The source cites example of Sky News which is a television channel
while B Sky B is licensed to market programmes. In the same vein, he
said Details, ABG and Comet are licensed by the NBC to carry out
broadcast.  Multichoice and others like it are subscriber-management
companies.

As to why Multichoice sells decoders, the source said that by law,
companies licensed by the NBC must use decoder because such companies
operate as pay-TV services and not open to everybody. The law
therefore, covers Multichoice to sell decoders, television sets or
radio sets.

The source added that since Multichoice markets programmes on behalf
of these companies - Details, ABG and Comet - it is necessary to sell
decoders to subscriber to these broadcast companies.  The source
refuted the allegation that Multichoice had rushed to the NBC to
obtain licence for fear that the commission's axe would fall on it.
According to him there was no need for that.

But that is only a little part of the problem. The main issue remains
the copyright affair that has entwined the NTA, Charly Boy and
Multichoice.  And he says if NBC cannot stop the South African
company, that he would.
Source: ThisDay, February 19, 1998.


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