*‘Fed Govt approves N5m fines for hate speech’

The Acting Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Prof. Armstrong Idachaba on Wednesday said all stakeholders, including the representative of NBC board, were involved in the reforms which led to the new Broadcasting Code.

He said the code was not imposed on the industry by Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

He also clarified that the N5million fine for breaches relating to hate speeches, inciting comments and indecency were recommended by a Reform Committee, which was headed by a former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr. Bayo Onanuga.

Idachaba made the clarifications in a chat with reporters against the backdrop of allegations that the Minister of Information unilaterally imposed the code, especially the N5million fine for hate speech and other breaches.

He said: “The new Broadcasting Code was a product of painstaking consultations with stakeholders in the industry by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). The board of the NBC was also adequately represented in the Reform Implementation Committee. At the final stakeholders’ session on March 25, a member of the board of NBC, Alhaji Danladi Bako presided over the review session. A renowned Mass Communication scholar, Prof. Ralph Akinfeye was part of the session.

“There was no imposition of the code under any guise. To have broader and independent views relating to the terms of reference of the committee, the committee invited some veterans in the broadcasting industry, broadcast station owners, represented by BON, and relevant professionals from other Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as the Civil Society..

“The following made presentations to the committee namely, the pioneer Director General of NBC, Dr. Tom Adaba; a former Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority(NTA ), Prof. Tonie Iredia, Dr. Akin Akingbulu of the Institute for Media and Society, an official from the Department of State Services; the chairman of the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria, an official from the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency(NITDA); official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Amaechi Anakwue of AIT/DAAR; and the DG of NBC sent a written submission.”

“The main committee was chaired by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Other members of the Committee were: Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, Director Monitoring of the NBC; Engr. Edward Amana, Chairman DigiTeam Nigeria; Mr. J.K Ehicheoya, Esq., the Director Legal Services, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and Joe Mutah, Chief Press Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture to serve as Secretary of the Committee.

He said Onanuga Committee made some recommendations which were adopted.

“The Reform Implementation Committee broke into three sub- committees for ease of collation of data and deliberations. Similarly, some professionals and consultants were co-opted into the sub-committees based on their professional competence and experiences in the industry.

“The Sub-Committees are: Monitoring and Equipment Sub Committee Sir Godfrey Ohuabunwa Chairman (BON Chairman); Hon. Kingsley Ndubuisi (Board Member NBC); Shola Taylor (former Secretary of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation); Adeola Olumeyan (Channels TV) e) Mr. Brian Rowan (Clyde Broadcasting UK) g) and Tony Uyah (Executive Director Engineering Daar Communication).

He added: “The committee recommended strict enforcement of provisions of the Broadcasting Code and the application of sanctions in compliance with provisions governing broadcasting in Nigeria by the broadcast stations.

“It demanded upward review of fines from N500,000 to N5,000,000 for breaches relating to hate speech, inciting comments and indecency.

“It said willful repeat of infractions on three occasions, after imposing fines on a station, should lead to the suspension of licence.

“It asked the government to upgrade breaches of political comments relating to hate speech and inciting comment to “Class A” Breach.

Idachaba said the Minister subsequently submitted the recommendations of the Onanuga Committee to the President through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on May 6, 2019.

He said: “Consequently, the President gave his approval through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation directing the Honourable Minister to implement all the recommendations of the Onanuga Committee.”

He listed the highlights of the recommendations approved by Mr. President as follows:

• Independence of the NBC from political interference in the( exercise of its regulatory powers, particularly with respect to the( issuance and withdrawal of broadcasting license.(
• A review of the National Broadcasting Code and extant broadcasting( laws to reflect the following amendments:( – Upward review of fines from N500, 000 to N5, 000,000 for breaches( relating to hate speeches, inciting comments and indecency( – Willful repeat of infractions on three occasions after levying fine( on a station to attract suspension of license.( –
• Upgrade of breach of political comments relating to hate speeches( and divisive comments to ‘’Class A’’ offence in the Broadcasting Code.
• Amendment of the NBC Act to enable NBC license WebTV and radio( stations, including foreign broadcasters beaming signals into Nigeria.(
• Recruitment of more monitoring staff for the NBC. At the moment,( there are only about 200 Staff monitoring about 1,000 radio and( television stations.(
• Deployment of adequate monitoring equipment and technologies for the NBC.( e) Enhancement of welfare packages of NBC staff to avoid their compromise in the line of duty.

He said: “I was a member of the Main Committee even before I became Acting DG of NBC. One of the key points we addressed was the question of monopoly.

“On Monopoly, the amendment here prevents the misuse of monopoly or market power or anti-competitive and unfair practices by foreign broadcaster to suppress local broadcaster in the television and radio markets. It has removed exclusivity from all content in Nigeria and mandates the sharing of all content upon the payment of commercially viable fees.”

The National Examination Council (NECO) has said that it was not responsible for the inability of some candidates to write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which commenced nationwide last Monday.

Some schools across the country have complained that their students were not able to write the examination due to the lack of adequate time for the candidates to be registered.

But NECO said in a statement signed by its Head of Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani that: “Opportunity was provided well in advance for all schools to register their candidates. “This was given that some schools and/or candidates may have faced difficulties in the course of the registrations.

“Due largely to this, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council extended the duration for registration to 12 midnight of Friday, August 21, 2020. The extension was widely publicised through various platforms.

“The aim was largely to accommodate late registration.

“It is regrettable that despite these measures, some schools failed to complete the registration or enrollment processes. It is therefore instructive to restate that the closure of the Portal on the said date was not punitive or designed to undermine registrants and schools,” Sani said.

He argued that the closure of the portal “was to allow the Council produce and distribute materials to Examination Centres for seamless conduct of the exercise”

The statement assured the public of NECO’s “commitment to effective and efficient conduct of all examinations within its statutory mandates”

According to Sani, the organisation “will continue to engage all stakeholders as may be appropriate”.

While appointments and nearly all facets of governance in Nigeria is riddled by tribalism and nepotism, a Nigerian born Canadian man, Kelechi Kaycee Madu has been appointed minister of justice and solicitor general of the Province of Alberta in Canada.

A graduate of the University of Lagos, Madu was Minister of Municipal Affairs for the province of Alberta, Canada before his new appointment.

the new justice minister took to his Twitter page to reflect on his new appointment and vowed to ensure that everyone in Alberta has access to equal justice.

He said his legal work has always been informed by the fundamental belief that everyone deserves equal access to justice, adding that this will never change.

Madu said he cherishes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which says: “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination.”

He assured that those words in the charter would flourish in the lives of Albertans and inspire confidence.

He added: “I look forward to working on many critical democratic reforms, including recall legislation and important citizenship initiative referendums, and taking the lead role on the implementation of our government’s fight for a fair deal within confederation.”

Kaycee Madu is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Edmonton-South West.

Outgoing President of the African Development Bank (AFDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has emerged as incoming President after a long drawn battle.

He was cleared of all allegations of impropriety and fraud by the bank’s ethics committee following allegations of graft by the  United States government, however, the US still insisted on a fresh and ‘in-depth’ investigation into the allegations.

Adesina, in a statement described the allegation as one calculated to tarnish his reputation.

However, analysts have cautioned he should watch his steps, given that powerful foes do not give up easily.

Adesina stood alone in the election, but was endorsed in a virtual general meeting on Thursday.

The first hint of his re-election was when a presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, tweeted, “Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has been re-elected as the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB). With this re-election, he will spend another 5 years supervising the affairs of the Bank. Congratulations!”

AfDB is yet to issue a formal statement.

Quick dispensation of justice was on the mind of President Muhammadu Buhari at the opening of the 60th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) where he threw a nagging poser: “Why can’t we have time limits for all cases? Why can’t we put in place the rules that will say that a criminal trial all the way up to the Supreme Court must end in 12 months, and that a civil trial must not exceed 12-15 months? I think that, for me, will be stepping forward.”.

Represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, the President entered the discourse at the virtual opening session of the Conference themed “Step Forward”, which he said translates into “taking responsibility”, he explained that the situation has become necessary given the current and pre-existing challenges confronting the system.

“Step forward means taking responsibility. It may also mean making progress, boldly taking on the challenges of the future.”

The President listed a few areas where “I believe we need to step forward and resolve some of the nagging problems of our systems of administration of justice.”

Going personal on the issue of delay in trials, the President referred to his experience at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunals in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2019. He said until recently, court trials had been “terribly slow” and capable of frustrating genuine efforts aimed at promoting general progress of the society.

He said “I am not a lawyer but I have been both a casualty and a beneficiary of the judicial process. I was before the courts for two and a half years- 27 months from 2003 in the now famous case of Buhari and Obasanjo. It took me two and a half years to fight for a four-year Presidential mandate.

“In 2007, I was again in court for 20 months, almost two years, also as petitioner and later then appellant in the case of Buhari and INEC. And in 2011, again as petitioner in the case of CPC and INEC. I spent another 8 months in court. At the end, I lost all three cases. I wondered then why it needed to take so long to arrive at a verdict.

“In 2019, my status improved, I was now no longer petitioner, I became first respondent in the case of Atiku and Buhari and the whole process took barely 6 months.”

Still on the areas requiring reform, President Buhari said “the second issue for me is the multiple and sometimes conflicting orders of courts. Recently, my party, the APC, had an internal crisis. In the six-week period before I chaired the meeting of the party to resolve the issues, there were at least 10 different conflicting rulings of the courts across the country.

“Again I am not a lawyer, but surely these sort of multiple and conflicting rulings of courts sometimes ex parte, really make a mockery of the judicial process.”

Continuing, the President said “third issue is the seeming bias towards technicality over the clear common sense justice of cases. If justice is to be seen to be done, then the outcomes of cases must make sense to the average person and not just to the refined minds of learned persons alone. Justice must make sense to lawyers and non-lawyers alike.”

“My fourth issue”, the President said, “is on the appointment of judges. I believe that we must continuously improve on the selection processes for appointment of the men and women who serve as judges.”

“First we must cast our nets wider in search of judges, especially at the appellate level.  Second we must put in place primarily merit-based selection processes including mandatory tests and interviews for all applicants for judgeships.

“While our Constitution urges Federal character for balance, this is not an excuse for mediocrity. If a particular zone is to produce a judge why can’t we find the best talents in that zone. Our country has excellent men and women everywhere,” the President said.

President noted that “Reform is urgent because the fabric of our society is stitched together by our system of justice and law enforcement. We cannot afford to have the stitches come undone.”

While urging stakeholders in the sector to further leverage technology to enhance the speed of court processes, the President said “digitization of court processes, records and services is very much the new frontier of justice delivery and will dramatically enhance access to justice and affect trial timelines.”

Speaking on his administration’s efforts at addressing security concerns, President Buhari said his government acknowledges the apprehensions of the people, and restated the commitment to address them.

He however noted that “the fight against insecurity and to establish law and order, requires the full cooperation of all especially the various structures for law enforcement and administration of justice at all levels,” referring to how both the Federal Government and the States need to work together on prosecuting criminal cases for instance. 

“If like some of us, you listen to the radio, you will often hear ordinary people asking questions about why criminals have not been sent to jail. So for example, they would ask why a suspected murderer has not being prosecuted.  Of course the question many will ask is, ‘so, what is Buhari doing about that?’.”

Earlier in his remarks, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad restated the commitment of the judiciary to adapt to changes within and around its environment, citing the adoption of virtual court proceedings as an example.

He said the judiciary under his watch will not condone practices that have, over the years, negatively impacted the image of the justice sector, noting that abuse of court processes, among others would no longer be tolerated.

The week-long event will feature discussions and presentations by distinguished personalities and scholars with a focus on the theme “Step Forward”.

Everyday

The senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has narrated how Boko Haram insurgents killed 75 members of his community in Gwoza local government in one night.

Mr Ndume made this disclosure Wednesday in an emotion-laden presentation during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by Senate Committee on Special Duties and the North East Development Commission (NEDC) in Maiduguri.

The former Senate leader, who is also a member of the committee, informed the gathering that the challenges faced by the people of Borno State were being underreported.

“If the Senate Committee would take time during their stay to go round some of the camps and even the nearby Konduga local government, we would all better appreciate what the people are facing,” he said.

“Even as a serving senator, I still cannot go to Gwoza my home town because it is not safe,” he said.

“Our security operatives are trying their bests, and we have to give it to them. But the situation is overwhelming. People are dying every day, either from attacks or by hunger. We have lost many lives here.

“There was a time in my home town Gwoza, that about 75 elders most of whom I know personally were dragged by Boko Haram to the town’s abattoir and slaughtered like animals. Only two persons survived because their bodies were covered with other people’s’ blood and the assailants thought they were dead.

“In the same Gwoza, Boko Haram had in a single day lined up young men and summarily shot them dead. These were just some stand out cases.”

Mr Ndume also lamented the issue of hunger in the state stressing that the situation would have been worse had there not been non-governmental organisations in Borno.

“We don’t know where we would have been or what would have happened to us in Borno State, had there not been the NGOs,” he said

“People die every day here, and I can assure you that even today or this evening, someone may have died of hunger. I am not talking about children – I mean adults.”

He said these and many other cases of insecurity pushed him to realise the need for the Northeast region to have a Development Commission.

“NEDC was my idea, and I pushed for its formation, not for anything else but to see how our people could be helped out of this ugly situation. And so far, we are impressed with the kind of work they are dong.

“But sadly, the amount of money at the disposal of the commission is not adequate to solve the humanitarian challenges facing Borno state alone,” he said.

The Senate Committee on Special Duties led by Yusuf Abubakar, was in Borno State to review the performance of the NEDC and the National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA)

The committee had upon arrival in Maiduguri paid a courtesy call on the governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum; where they explained their mission before proceeding to the Shehu of Borno’s palace.

At the stakeholders briefing, officials of the Nigeria military, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NEMA and that of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency took time to brief the committee on the situation in the state.

The NEDC Managing Director, Mohammed Alkali-Goni, commended the Senate committee for taking time off their busy schedule to be in Borno State. He said their visit would enable the National Assembly to appreciate the challenges in the region.

The committee is expected to visit IDP camps and some of the locations where the NEDC has projects.

Premium Times

 Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has challenged the Nigeria Bar Association to work towards reforming the Nigerian judicial processes to ensure the speedy dispensation of justice in the country.

Professor Osinbajo posed the challenge on Wednesday when he virtually declared open the Annual National Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Lagos, where he represented President Muhammadu Buhari.

The vice president wants to see judicial reforms that will fast track all court cases so that the longest will be a maximum of 15 months.

“Reform is urgent because the fabric of our society is stitched together by our system of justice and law enforcement,” he said.

“We cannot afford to have the stitches come undone. The first issue I would like to commend to your consideration is the terribly slow pace of trials in our courts.”

For Osinbajo, fixing a time limit as has been done with cases in the Supreme Court might lead to speedy trials.

“My question then is that why can’t we have timeliness on all cases? Why can’t we put in place the rules that will state that a criminal trial all the way to the Supreme Court must not exceed 12 months in duration?

“Why can’t we do the same for civil cases even if we say it that civil cases must not go beyond 15 months – between 12 and 15 months? I think that for me will be stepping forward.

“The question of speed raises a related concern in the context of a competitive global economy, a speed of our legal institutions and processes must match up with the global pace of transactions,” he said.

Besides speedy dispensation of court cases, Osinbajo noted that multiple and conflicting court orders are making a mockery of the judicial process while highlighting the need for reforms in that area.

Source: Channels TV

Sunday Shodipe, a suspected serial killer in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, says a herbalist mounted pressure on him to escape from police custody.

The 19-year-old disclosed this on Wednesday when he was paraded by Nwachukwu Enwonwu, the state commissioner of police.

Shodipe was arrested alongside two others in June in connection with a series of killings in Akinyele local government area of the state.

He, however, escaped from Mokola station where he was kept on August 11 but was rearrested on Sunday.

Explaining his escape, Shodipe said he fled the police station to carry out rituals in the interest of one Idris Ajani, a 50-year-old herbalist he was arrested with.

He said the herbalist threatened him in custody, saying there would be dire consequences if he did not escape to continue the killings.

He added that he killed another woman while he was on the run.

“Baba( herbalist) had been telling Officer Funsho to open the gate to allow us to take our bath but the officer did not answer him,” Shodipe said.

“Baba later told the officer that he needed to drink gin as an herbalist to prevent spirits from draining his blood but the officer still did not answer him.

“Baba had been blaming me for telling the police and the public that he was the one that sent me to kill and that I would have been released from the custody if I had been untruthful.

“Baba also told me that something terrible might happen to him if he stayed too long in police custody because of the sacrifices he had not been performing since his arrest.

“So, when the police later allowed me to go and bath in the evening at about 7.pm, I used the opportunity to escape and went to Akinyele to kill another woman.

“Baba sends me out and tells me to kill by reciting his name, Idris Adedokun Yunusa Ajani, in incantations. So, I killed the women to ensure Baba’s safety.”

The suspect added that he ran to Bodija where he was rearrested to fend for himself by carrying a luggage using a cap to conceal his identity.

Enwonwu said Shodipe, who was in police custody due to the congestion at the Nigeria Correctional Service facility in the state, would now be taken to the facility.

“The police officer involved in Shodipe’ s case is paying dearly for it and he is still in police custody facing disciplinary action which has been completed at the level of the command and forwarded to Abuja,” Enwonwu said.