Lekki toll gate shooting: PDP kicks as Buhari govt fines AIT, Channels, Arise TV millions of naira

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has condemned the sanction imposed on some media houses over covering of End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos State.

Recall that the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, had imposed fines worth millions on African Independent Television, AIT, Channels Television, and Arise News.

However, PDP said the fine imposed on the media houses was an indication that the federal government was plotting to gag the media.

The opposition party stated this in series of tweets on its official Twitter handle.

According to PDP: “We assert that the rush to impose monetary fines on the television stations by the National Broadcast Commission (NBC), smacks of a fresh attempt to further gag the media, suppress free speech and Nigerians’ access to information.
Official PDP Nigeria

“Indeed, this clampdown on broadcast stations, if anything, has heightened widespread public apprehensions of attempts at concealments of details and suppression of material evidence relating to human rights violations during the protest.

“In fact, this display of high-handedness by the NBC has hugely detracted from the efforts being made by well-meaning Nigerians to douse the tension in the land and reassure Nigerians at this critical time.

“The NBC should rescind this rushed clampdown and handle its regulatory role more professionally.

“Our party holds that, in the course of information handling, especially in a crisis situation as we witnessed in the last two weeks, where caution is required, draconian measures should not be an option. Rather, all efforts should be towards national healing.

“Instead of seeking to gag the media, Nigerians would rather expect establishments like the NBC to be on the side of the people by urging government agencies to come up with information, particularly, such that contain critical pieces of evidence that would guarantee justice for victims of brutality by unscrupulous security operatives.

“While the @OfficialPDPNig calls for caution by all Nigerians, especially in the handling of information, we urge agencies of government to be mindful of actions that are capable of acerbating the already precarious situation in which we have found ourselves.

“The @OfficialPDPNig restates its call for calm and restrain in the general interest of the unity and stability of our nation.”