APC petitions NBC, demands sanction of Arise TV, Channels

The Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has petitioned the National Broadcasting Commission to sanction Arise News and Channels TV over their fake reports on the APC Presidential Candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

A statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of the council, Mr Bayo Onanuga in Abuja on Monday said that a petition signed by the Special Adviser, Media, Communications and Public Affairs of the PCC, Dele Alake and addressed to the Director-General, Balarabe Shehu Ilelah accused the two television station of breaching broadcast codes with their actions.

In the petition, Alake noted the purported indictment of Tinubu as reported and discussed on Arise News and Channels TV had already been cleared in correspondence between then Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun and the US government.

The PCC said the continued broadcast of a non-existing ‘indictment’ violated the NBC code.

It further accused both stations of using the already cleared document in their interviews of Festus Keyamo SAN and the spokesman of the opposition PDP respectively.

Both stations, the petition said, went further to broadcast a fake letter in circulation, purportedly issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission, stating that the electoral body was investigating Tinubu.

This was also against the NBC code, which forbids broadcasting fake news in the words of Alake.