NIGERIA MEDIA MONITOR
#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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