FINALLY! NBC Arrests Radio Biafra Operators, Seizes Transmission Equipment
The National Broadcasting Commission [NBC] on Friday said it has
arrested operators of Radio Biafra, blocked the station from Nigeria’s
airwaves and seized its transmission equipment in many part of Nigeria’s
South-East zone.
NBC’s Director General, Emeka Mba, made this known Friday in a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr.
Mba said his commission has effectively neutralised the illegal
broadcast from the pirate radio station he said had shattered the peace
of South-East Nigeria with unsavoury messages.
“Working with
security operatives, the commission has also tracked down, neutralized
and confiscated transmitter equipment from several locations in the
region,” he said.
“Some suspects involved in the illicit broadcasts have also been arrested and taken to Abuja for questioning and prosecution.
“The
commission has also worked with other agencies to remove the
transmissions of the illegal station from the satellite, and this has
put paid to the divisive and disruptive transmissions.”
He said
the commission appreciated the concerns expressed by Nigerians over the
seditious activities of the illegal radio station and urged the people
of the region to disregard the messages purveyed by it.
Radio Biafra
was floated by some Nigerians in the South-East of the country, who
appear nostalgic of the defunct Biafra Republic, which ceased to exist
at the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970.
While its backers
say the radio caters for the needs of people from the region, the
network is also known for propagating falsehood, dangerous propaganda
and ideology of the former secessionist Republic.
This newspaper
had on July 10 wrote an editorial drawing attention to the disturbing
signals from the radio station and called for urgent steps to curtail
its excesses.
Four days later, the government said it had successfully jammed its signals.
The
permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Shade Yemi-Esan,
made this known Tuesday while briefing journalists at the presidential
villa after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on the activities of her
ministry.
She claimed the NBC had successfully blocked the signals of the radio station.
However,
on July 15, PREMIUM TIMES correspondents in the South-East of Nigeria,
and other listeners confirmed that station remained on the airwaves as
of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, long after Ms. Yemi-Esan, told
journalists it had been blocked.
The station also denounced the
claim by government, tweeting that its terrestrial transmission remained
alive as well as its online radio.
“Radio Biafra is live in Biafra land: NBC woe to you and your lies: NBC lied to their master and gullib…,” the radio tweeted.
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