Tinubu certificate: LP chieftain, SERAP threaten legal action against NBC over warning to AriseTV

Opposition Labour Party (LP) chieftain and lawyer, Mr Kenneth Okonkwo, as well as, rights advocacy group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have threatened to take legal action against the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the latter decision to issue a ‘final warning’ to a broadcast medium in the country, Arise television for ‘use of derogatory and incendiary remarks on its station’ by guests.

The warning to Arise Television followed the appearance of its guests on live programmes expressing their opinions over the Chicago State University (CSU and President Bola Tinubu certificate scandal.

The Federal Government through the NBC consequently issued a final warning to the broadcast station for allowing its guests the use of derogatory and incendiary remarks on the station.

The warning was contained in a letter by the NBC’s Director General, Dr Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, on October 6, 2023.

The letter titled: “Preponderance of derogatory and incendiary remarks: final warning” reads in part: “The NBC has observed with concern preponderance of incendiary remarks allowed on Arise news.

“This letter seeks to underscore the tremendous responsibility put on the broadcaster to manage the array of guest that may feature on the station from time to time.

“The commission listed the station’s morning show programme on 5th October anchored by Reuben Abati, Rufai Oseni and Ayo Maio-Ese, which featured Oladokun Hassan and Dele Farotimi as guests. The programme contained unguarded incendiary remarks by Dele Farotimi against the Legislature and the Executive, the Judiciary and Mr. President.

“The station was also accused of not keeping to its responsibility while airing its programme ”Newsday” which featured Kenneth Okonkwo, (Spokesperson of Labour Party) who used derogatory remarks on air.

“The commission therefore drew the attention of the broadcast station to broadcast rule and code 1.10.3, 3.3.1(a), 3.3.3(c), 3.3.1 (e), 5.3.3(b) and 5.5.6.

“Arise TV is advised to install a delay mechanism to guard against undesirable contents as prescribe in section 5.5.6 of the broadcasting code.”

However, reacting to the development, a chieftain of the Labour Party, Mr Kenneth Okonkwo in an open letter addressed to the NBC, demanded an apology from the broadcast regulator on the grounds of ‘outright infringement on his fundamental human rights as enshrined in Sections 38 and 39’ of the Nigerian Constitution.

Mr. Okonkwo also advised the NBC to desist from using his name ‘disrespectfully’ in subsequent correspondence, warning ‘I will restrict myself and be as civil as possible in this writing, because this is the first time you are embarking on this misadventure. I will certainly not be this civil next time, if this your attitude continues.’

In the statement titled; ‘OPEN LETTER TO MR BALARABE SHEHU ILELAH, DG NATIONAL BROADCASTING CORPORATION (NBC),’ the LP chieftain drew the attention of the regulator to the fact that a court has also ruled ‘that NBC has no power to fine or sanction any media house. Intimidating or manipulating the media house is a form of sanction and is unlawful.’

“He ill-advisedly mentioned my name in his letter as making unguarded utterance simply because I confirmed that the Chicago State University certificate, which BAT submitted to INEC, was forged, for the simple reason that the University has expressly stated that the certificate did not come from them, which is the condition necessary to prove forgery.

“This statement is an outright infringement on my fundamental human rights as enshrined in Sections 38 and 39, which provide that “every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought…; every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information, ideas and information without interference”.

“These rights are superior to the NBC Statute which the DG incorrectly stated and his mentioning my name in his letter is an attempt to rudely interfere with my divinely and constitutionally guaranteed rights and he should desist henceforth from further mentioning my name in any letter or communication whatsoever. I remind him that, by law, any infringement on the fundamental human rights of Nigerians attract punishment of damages.

“The Constitution also protects the right of the media in Section 22 to be free to uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people. Again the DG does not have the right to deny Arise TV their right to hold the government accountable to the people.

“It’s unfortunate that when all media houses condemned Mmesoma for forging her Jamb certificate, and rightly too, without being convicted by a court, simply because JAMB disowned her certificate, and rightly too, the DG didn’t write to any TV station or mention the name of any guest on TV who condemned such forgery. Now that the certificate of the President is disowned by the University that purportedly issued it, the DG has suddenly found his mouth to mention the names of the people who condemned such forgery of the certificate after the university disowned it and even wrote the media house to threaten it.

“The only unguarded utterance here is the ill-advised letter written by the DG to Arise TV and this must stop. I did not make my name by forging my certificates, I made my name by investing the talent of acting God has deposited in me to create a new movie industry called Nollywood which started with the movie Living in Bondage, and which it pleased God to make me the first Actor of the industry which is employing millions of Nigerian Youths. I have since improved to become a Lawyer and advocate for a New Nigeria, which preceeded this new political dispensation.

“If your letter is an attempt at intimidating me not to say the truth, you have failed because I have already taken a decision to fight for a new Nigeria based on the truth, realising that truth is the only thing that brings genuine and permanent solutions to a nation’s problem. It is letters like your own that has prompted foreign entities to wrongly ascribe forgery as a Nigerian thing. Please desist from such letters.

“Sir, I humbly take exception to your using my name disrespectfully and demand an apology from you. I will restrict myself and be as civil as possible in this writing, because this is the first time you are embarking on this misadventure. I will certainly not be this civil next time, if this your attitude continues,” Okonwko wrote.

Similarly, SERAP, threatened legal action against President Bola Tinubu’s administration over the last warning issued to Arise Television.

SERAP charged Tinubu’s administration to direct the NBC to withdraw the last warning to Arise TV or risk legal action.

NBC had sternly warned Arise Television against the use of derogatory and incendiary remarks on its station.

In a tweet via its X (formerly Twitter) platform, SERAP wrote: “BREAKING: The Tinubu administration must instruct the NBC to withdraw the purported ‘final warning’ to Arise TV over alleged use of ‘derogatory and incendiary remarks’ on its programmes. ⁣

“We’ll see in court if the threat is not immediately withdrawn,” the group warned.