Olushola Omogbehin
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has criticised a new controversial directive of the the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to broadcaster and called for its immediate withdrawal.
The directive which warned broadcasters against actions such as expressing personal opinions and allegedly intimidating guests, was released by the commission on April 17, 2026.
SERAP in the directive called on President Bola Tinubu to instruct the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, alongside the NBC, to retract the “Formal Notice.”
SERAP disclosed this in a letter dated April 18, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
In the letter, the organisation called on President Tinubu to instruct the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, and the NBC to reverse the notice.
“The NBC’s notice represents a dangerous attempt to impose prior censorship on the media and suppress legitimate journalistic expression,” SERAP said.
Describing the directive as unconstitutional, SERAP specifically asked government to “abstain from imposing prior censorship on broadcast stations and Nigerian journalists, including presenters and to allow them to freely carry out their constitutional responsibilities.
“The Nigerian Constitution and international human rights law protect both the absolute right to hold opinions and the qualified right to express ideas of all kinds.”
Criticising Section 1.10.3 of the Broadcasting Code, SERAP said:
“This amounts to prior restraint that impermissibly excludes commentary, analysis, and value judgments, the core of journalism and democratic discourse.
“The threat of sanctions for broadly defined conduct creates a chilling effect on journalists and broadcasters, thereby undermining constitutional guarantees. We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 48 hours.
“If we have not heard from your government and the NBC by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel compliance.”
Similarly, Amnesty International on Sunday faulted NBC’s “formal notice to broadcasters.”
Faulting the the “formal notice to broadcasters”, the Nigeria’s Executive Director of Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi, said the move undermined the independence of the media and violated international human rights standards.
“Nigeria’s vibrant broadcast media, whose editorial independence enables citizens to freely seek, receive, and impart information, is protected under instruments like the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” Sanusi said.
He appealed to Nigerian authorities to stop what he described as an “unrelenting quest to silence journalists.”
He maintainied that independent and diverse media were essential to safeguarding the public’s right to information.
Amnesty International further described the NBC’s directive as authoritarian and unconstitutional, insisting that the commission lacked the power to dictate how journalists carry out their duties.
“The latest threat issued by NBC is authoritarian and unconstitutional. Broadcasters must continue doing their job fiercely and independently without fear. Broadcasters must continue doing their job fiercely and independently without fear,” the statement said.
As well, describing the directive as unlawful and a threat to press freedom, SERAP appealed to President Bola Tinubu to order its immediate withdrawal.
