MEDIA IN NIGERIA #02 - 47(08 DECEMBER 2003)

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MEDIA IN NIGERIA is a weekly publication on
developments within and
affecting the media/communication/freedom of
expression sector in Nigeria.

It is an initiative of the Institute for Media and
Society (IMS), a non-profit,
non-governmental organization based in Lagos, Nigeria.
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NEWS

MEDIA-GENERAL
-SSS BOSS SEEKS JOURNALISTS' COOPERATION
-POLICE ATTACK JOURNALISTS, RIGHTS ACTIVISTS OVER
ANTI-CHOGM PROTEST
-OBASANJO DENIES CLAMPDOWN ON MEDIA

BROADCAST MEDIA
-FRCN PENSIONERS PETITION GOVT ON DELAYED PENSION
PAYMENT

INFOTECH
-FALSE ADVERTS: NCC TO PENALIZE TELECOM OPERATORS
-CYBER FRAUD: THE GUARDIAN GIVES KUDOS TO GOVT ON
INTERNET FRAUD PANEL
-WSIS: YOUTHS SEEKS INCLUSION IN NATIONAL PROCESSES
-PER SECOND BILLING NOT AN EXCUSE FOR LOW PERFORMANCE
- VANGUARD

ADVERTISING
OAAN INTRODUCES INSURANCE SCHEME FOR MEMBERS

THE ARTS
-OBASANJO SETS AGENDA FOR FILM PRODUCERS
-SHARIA: KANO LAUNCHES OFFENSIVE AGAINST PORNOGRAPHY

MEDIA-GENERAL

SSS BOSS SEEKS JOURNALISTS' COOPERATION

The on-going rapprochement between the media and the
State Security Service, SSS, has deepened, with a call
on the press to join forces with the agency in
flushing out undesirable elements from the nation's
political space and other sectors of the polity.

Toyin Akanle, Lagos State Director of the agency who
made the plea during a parley with journalists in his
office, said collaboration between the press and the
SSS is imperative to ensure that the journey to a good
democratic system is successful. "If we will succeed
in this journey to a good democratic system, there is
a need for closer ties between the security service
and the press", he said.

While appreciating the challenges journalists face as
the society's watchdog, Akanle urged media men to
strive to be objective in their reporting, impartial
and thorough in their editorial opinions.

He also advised journalists to be less sensational in
their reporting of sensitive national issues.

In recent weeks, heads of SSS across the states of the
Nigerian Federation have been reaching out to
journalists, pleading for better appreciation of their
duties, a development that analysts consider as
refreshing given the history of mutual suspicion and
hatred between the two important sectors.

POLICE ATTACK JOURNALISTS, RIGHTS ACTIVISTS OVER
ANTI-CHOGM PROTEST

For daring to cover a protest rally in Lagos called by
the human rights group, United Action for Democracy
(UAD), against the just concluded Commonwealth Heads
of Government Meeting, CHOGM, in Abuja, reporters and
cameramen of two broadcast stations, Galaxy Television
and Minaj Broadcast International, were brutalized by
the police. Minaj's Friday Okafor, one of the victims
of the assault, said policemen descended on the
protesters and the press, alleging that the protest
was illegal.

At least, six activists who are members of the UAD
were arrested. They are Bamidele Aturu, Wale Balogun,
Dogar Tolar, Joseph Anua, Kamilu Mustapha and Emereola
Joel.

Musiliu Lawal, Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge
of The Criminal Investigation Department, told The
Punch newspaper that the police action was to
forestall a breach of the peace, adding that the
protest violated the Public Order Act.

OBASANJO DENIES CLAMPDOWN ON MEDIA

Amidst growing criticism of the human rights record of
the Olusegun Obasanjo administration in recent months,
the government has denied that there is any
restriction on freedom of expression and personal
liberties in the country.

Reacting to a recent report of Human Rights Watch
accusing it of clamping down on the independent media
and curtailing individual liberties, the government,
in a statement by Senior Special Assistant (Media),
Remi Oyo, said the allegations were untrue. Oyo said
media practice in Nigeria was the freest in Africa,
adding even under repressive military rule, the press
had always expressed their opinions.

She described the report of HRW as a deliberate
attempt to cast aspersion on the integrity of the
Nigerian people and government, with the aim of
disrupting the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting holding in Abuja, Nigeria.

"No government in the history of Nigeria has
appreciated, deepened and defended individual and
collective freedoms as the current administration",
Oyo said.

However, in its 48 - page report on the human rights
status of Nigeria, Washington, USA - based HRW,
chronicled damming cases, since 2002, in which real or
perceived critics and opponents of Obasanjo's
government arrested, detained, ill-treated and
subjected to all forms of harassment and intimidation.

Apart from inviting the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the
Rights to Freedom of Opinion and Expression to
Nigeria, to investigate various restrictions imposed
on freedom of expression by the administration, it
also urged Commonwealth Leaders at CHOGM to prevail on
Obasanjo to respect the individual liberties and right
to freedom of expression of Nigerian citizens.

President Obasanjo's relationship with the local media
has degenerated, following the expulsion of
correspondents of some newspaper from the Presidential
villa. While the Presidency maintained that the
journalists' failed to meet standards set for
accreditation, it is widely believed that they were
schemed out over alleged critical reports on the
activities of the President.

BROADCAST MEDIA

FRCN PENSIONERS PETITION GOVT ON DELAYED PENSION
PAYMENT

Pensioners of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria
(FRCN) has appealed to the Federal Government to clear
their backlog of arrears of pensions.

The retired employees who met recently in Enugu,
south-east Nigeria, to appraise their situation, noted
with concern the attitude of Director-General of the
Corporation, Eddie Iroh, to requests to meet with them
to discuss the delay in the payment of the pension.

As a result of this indifference from the
corporation's management, the Pensioners revealed that
more than 42 of their members had died in the last 12
months with an unspecified others bedridden due to
illnesses.

They therefore appealed to the Minister of Information
and National Orientation, Chukwuemeka Chikelu, to
table their matter at the Federal Executive Council
Meeting for necessary action by the government.

INFOTECH

FALSE ADVERTS: NCC TO PENALISE TELECOM OPERATORS

Telecommunications operators who mislead subscribers
by advertising services that they do not have
capacities to offer are to be penalized by the
industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications
Commission, NCC.

The NCC's Chief Executive, Ernest Ndukwe, has already
directed the Agency's Consumer Affairs Bureau to
investigate the complaints by subscribers who claim
they were hoodwinked into subscribing to some network
only to discover that they lack the capacity to
deliver the services that they were promised.

The directive was the fall-out of the November edition
of the NCC's Consumers Affairs Parliament in Lagos.
At the Forum, subscribers accused the operators,
especially the Private Telecom Operators, PTOs, of
advertising services like Internet access which they
lacked the capacity to provide.

Ndukwue said it was dubious for operators "to
advertise what (service) they do not provide". He
equally directed the Consumers Affairs Bureau to
examine complaints on accumulated validity periods
which a GSM operator recently decided to erase, much
to the chagrin of its subscribers.

The NCC boss advised operators to be more subscriber -
friendly.

CYBER FRAUD: THE GUARDIAN GIVES KUDOS TO GOVT ON
INTERNET FRAUD PANEL

The Guardian, one of Nigeria's leading independent
newspapers, has commended the Federal Government's
decision to set up a committee to check the use of the
Internet for advance fee fraud, also known as "419" in
Nigeria.

According to the newspaper, the government's decision
to inaugurate the 15 - man committee which is headed
by the National Security Adviser, Mohammed Aliyu
Gusau, was timely, adding that it would go a long way
in helping to tackle the spread of cyber crime in the
country.

It observed that though access to computers was still
limited in the country, there were disturbing evidence
that "fraudsters are taking advantage of the internet
to serve their own purpose", while fascination of the
youths for pornography on the Internet was also a
source of concern.

However, The Guardian warned that these concerns
should not be allowed to pose any constraint on the
computerization drives of the government.

Rather, it urged caution in tackling the work of the
committee, especially by ensuring that its mandate is
supported by existing laws and that its activities do
not threaten the citizen's right of access to
information.

It equally warned against the temptation of setting a
fresh agency on Internet fraud with all the
paraphernalia and bureaucracy, at the end of the
committee's assignment. Instead, it suggested that
existing institutions should be strengthened to
implement the recommendations of the committee.

WSIS: YOUTHS SEEKS INCLUSION IN NATIONAL PROCESSES

Youths under the aegis of Nigerian Youth Coalition on
Information and Technology have asked for inclusion in
all national levels of information and communication
development in Nigeria to guarantee sustained growth
in the sector and enhance their participation in the
forthcoming World Summit on Information Society.

The call was contained in the declaration made by the
group after its national youth consultation process
tagged "Policy Train" which held recently in Port
Harcourt, Lagos and Kano.

The group equally charged government to make access to
ICT by a majority of the population a top priority of
the administration and the private sector.

It said Nigeria must embrace and take advantage of the
forthcoming World Summit to remain relevant in the
emerging information society. The World Summit on
Information Society is an initiative of the UN that
seeks to provide a framework for governments,
non-government organisations and association,
companies and other stakeholders to discuss on issues
relating to the emerging digital economy globally.

The first of the two-phased Summit is scheduled to
hold this month in Geneva, Switzerland.

PER SECOND BILLING NOT AN EXCUSE FOR LOW PERFORMANCE -
VANGUARD

As telephone subscribers begin to enjoy the per-second
billing system recently introduced by the Global
System for Mobile Communication (GSM) operators, the
service providers have been asked not to use the new
billing system as an excuse for non-performance.

Making the charge in a recent editorial, Vanguard, one
of the leading independent newspapers in Nigeria urged
the GSM operators to upgrade their facilities in
anticipation of more subscribers coming on board.

It equally asked the operators to extend the tariff
reduction on national calls to international calls in
line with global trends.

The newspaper equally expressed the hope that with the
introduction of per second billing system, the
validity period placed on vouchers would be reviewed
while interconnectivity among the operators is tacked.

After many months of stubborn resistance, Nigeria's
Leading GSM companies, Econet Wireless Nigeria and MTN
Nigeria Communication finally embraced the per-second
billing system on November 26 and December 1, 2003,
respectively. Globacom, the second National operator
(SNO) had set the pace in August when it introduced
per second billing on its mobile network, Glo -
mobile.

OAAN INTRODUCES INSURANCE SCHEME FOR MEMBERS

The Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, OAAN,
is negotiating a Group Accident Insurance Cover for
members with a view to safeguarding their investments.

President of the association, Ipoola Omisore, who
disclosed this in Lagos, says the N2 million scheme is
aimed at providing indemnity cover for member
companies against the incidence of death and physical
incapacitation.

The OAAN leader equally revealed plans for the take
off the proposed outdoor Advertising Association of
West African States, OAAWAS, to forge regional
cooperation amongst operators across the region.

THE ARTS

OBASANJO SETS AGENDA FOR FILM PRODUCERS

Considering the important role films play in helping
to mould the character and shaping the opinions of the
people, President Olusegun Obasanjo has charged
filmmakers to make the platform available for the
fight against corruption.

Speaking through the Minister of Information and
National Orientation, Chukwuemeka Chikelu, at the just
concluded 2nd National film Festival held in Lagos,
the President affirmed the primacy of the
anti-corruption crusade amongst the programmer of the
administration since 1999.

He said the nation must rid itself of the corruption
virus if it is to make progress, adding that
filmmakers have a role to play in assisting the
process. "The Home Videos should be geared towards
fighting corruption and actors and actress in movies
should be portrayed as being morally upright".

The President acknowledged the contribution of the
movie industry to the growth of the economy while,
also, appealing to the producers to help project "our
ideals, values and cultures to the rest of the world".

Chikelu pledged to do all within his power to further
the growth of the billion dollar industry. The
Nigerian movie industry is one of the most vibrant in
sub-saharan Africa, churning out hundreds of films
yearly as well as providing employment for thousands
of citizens.

SHARIA: KANO LAUNCHES OFFENSIVE AGAINST PORNOGRAPHY

In what seemed as a renewed resolve to fully implement
the Sharia legal code against the circulation and use
of obscene literature and films in the state, the Kano
State Government, Northwest Nigeria, has concluded an
all-out offensive against marketers of pornographic
films.

No fewer than 10 such persons were arrested recently
and they are to face trial shortly. Cartons of
Compact Disc plates and video cassettes were allegedly
confiscated from the suspects.

Garba Yusuf, Kano State Commissioner for Information,
while restating ban on sale of pornographic materials
in the state, also revealed the government's plan to
set up a mobile court which shall try those caught
violating the law.

He urged the people of the state to be vigilant and
report anybody suspected to be involved in the sale or
use of the banned films. However, he warned the
people against taking the Laws into their hands.

Kano is among the eleven northern states which have
embraced the Sharia Legal System since 2000 when
Zamfara State blazed the trail.

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