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The House of Representatives
has initiated a bill for an act to outlaw sensational reporting of conflicts in the National Assembly and inter-govern-mental
rifts, with a prescription of up to 12 months rustication against defaulting journalists.
Titled: Journalism Enhancement Bill, the legislation makes provision for the establishment of a Media Practitioners
Complaints Commission (MPCC) in each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with powers
of taking disciplinary measures on media practitioners.
Under section 27 of the proposal, �A journalist shall not present or report acts of violence, religious or inter-ethnic
or tribal conflicts, armed robberies, terrorist activities, national controversies, such as inter-governmental
and or parliamentary conflicts, natural disasters, vulgar display of wealth, or other cies in the society or polity,
in a sensational way, or in a manner that glorifies such acts in the eyes of the public, or foreign observers.�
Violators of this provision, according to the bill, "shall be guilty of professional misconduct, and the matter
shall be referred to the Nigerian Press Council by the Nigerian Union of Journalists, or any of its members or
any affected person, for appropriate disciplinary action, which may include suspension and or withdrawal of the
registration of the journalist from the Nigerian Union of Journalists, and the Nigeria Press Council."
Also, based on the legislation,
publication of "inaccurate and or misleading" stories in the media will attract punishment for both the
reporter and the media organisation.
The bill also restricts publication
of information on personal life of individuals to only when the publication is of public interest and is done to
expose crime, serious misdemeanour or anti-social conduct, or to protect public health, morality, safety and the
public from being misled by the individual concerned.
Also, when the bill becomes law,
any journalist who solicits or accepts inducement to publish or suppress a story will go for a one-year jail term
or pay a fine of N100,000.
The MPCC, according to the bill
shall have powers to initiate inquiries into cases of professional misconduct, summon people for evidence and prescribe
punishment for offences perpetrated by newsmen. Section 37 says: "Where a journalist is found liable by the
commission for professional and or ethical misconduct, it shall have power to reprimand, or suspend him for a period
not exceeding twelve (12) months or impose any other appropriate punishment."
The bill further makes it mandatory
to appoint media practitioners into the offices of minister of information, state commissioner of information and
chief press secretary to the president, vice president, president of the Senate, speaker of the House of Representatives,
ministers, governors and commissioners.
The legislation also reserves
at least 25 per cent of board appointments in media establishments to registered, practising journalists.
Sponsored by Ms. Abike Dabiri
and 16 others, the bill has already gone through first reading in the House, but no date has yet been fixed for
debate on its contents.
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