• Friday, March 29, 2024
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BusinessDay

AIT/Ray Power go off air following NBC withdrawal of its licence

Ait-RayPower

Daar Communications has shut down its two media stations, AIT and Ray Power following the withdrawal of its operating license on Thursday by the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC.

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said that it suspended the operating licence of the Daar Communications PLC, operator of Africa Independent Television (AIT) and Ray Power FM, for promoting “Hate Speech, divisive and inciting comments,” which violated the Broadcasting Code that is backed by provisions of Section 10 of the Third Schedule of the NBC Act Cap N11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The management of the news outfit is still considering the best options – possibly a legal action –  to fight what they see as injustice to the Organisation which has been vocal against government’s incapabilities, BusinessDay understands.

AIT shutdown on Thursday following obvious accusations of support for the opposition is being condemned both locally and internationally as an attempt by the government to gag the Nigerian media.

BusinessDay understands that the latest development may have led to the British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) withdrawal of the state -owned media, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) from its sky channel 781.

British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) was formed by the merger of Sky Televisionand British Satellite Broadcastingon 2 November 1990.

@BTBreakingTimes had twitted on Friday morning “FG Crackdown On AIT: British BskyB withdraws NTA from its sky channel 781”

BusinessDay, however cannot independently connect the NTA withdrawal to the current NBC crackdown on DAAR Communications which coincidentally happened on a day Nigeria government announced a crackdown on a major independent broadcaster in Nigeria.

..details soon

Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja