Eshioromeh Sebastian
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has issued a formal notice to all broadcast stations in Nigeria, signaling strict enforcement of the 6th Edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
The notice followed what it described as “a sustained increase in breaches” across News, Current Affairs, and Political Programmes.
The Commission, in a press release dated April 17, 2026, warned that “broadcast platforms are increasingly being deployed in ways that depart from their core obligation to inform the public with accuracy, balance, and professionalism.”
As Nigeria approaches the 2027 General Elections, the NBC stated that it “hereby notifies all broadcasters and stakeholders that it will enforce strict and uncompromised compliance with every provision of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, particularly, those relating to fairness, balance, accuracy, hate speech, incitement and respect for constitutional bodies.”
The NBC noted a “disturbing departure from the core principles of broadcast journalism” among anchors and presenters, citing specific violations of the Code.
According to the Commission, Section 1.10.3 of the Code: “The Broadcaster shall ensure that a Presenter does not express his or her opinion in the programme, as a matter of professional standard.”
The NBC also invoked Section 3.3.1(b), which requires that “all sides to any issue of public interest are equitably presented for fairness and balance,” and Section 3.4.1(b), mandating that “all sides to an issue are equitably presented, preferably in the same broadcast.”
Furthermore, the Commission referenced Section 5.3.3(b), which states that “the broadcaster shall, in using political materials for news and current affairs programme, avoid hate speech, inflammatory, derogatory and divisive remarks or allusions.”
Henceforth, the NBC declared that any anchor or presenter found to have “expressed personal opinion as fact, bullied or intimidated a guest, denied fair hearing to opposing views, or otherwise compromised neutrality” would face regulatory sanctions.
The Commission also documented “a rising trend of political actors across party lines using broadcast platforms to promote contents” in violation of multiple Code sections.
The NBC cited Section 3.1.1, which provides that “no broadcast shall encourage or incite to crime and lead to public disorder or hate be repugnant to any person or organization alive or dead or generally be disrespectful to human dignity.”
Similarly, Section 3.11.1(a) states that “language or scene likely to encourage or incite to crime, or lead to disorder is not broadcast,” while Section 5.4.1(b) requires that “the broadcaster shall not transmit divisive materials or compromise the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a sovereign state.”
The Commission further invoked Section 3.11.1(b), which prohibits “any programme contains anything which amounts to subversion of constituted authority or compromises the unity or corporate existence of Nigeria as a sovereign state,” and Section 5.5.1(b), which mandates that “the broadcaster shall exhibit professionalism in handling the transmission especially sensitive issues as politics, communal conflicts and wars.”
The NBC stated that the notice serves as a formal warning ahead of the 2027 election cycle, adding that enforcement would be “strict and uncompromised” going forward.
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