The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Nigeria’s broadcast sector regulator, has issued a guidance to broadcast stations ahead of the 2027 General Elections, saying it had identified “a sustained increase in breaches of the 6th Edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code across News, Current Affairs, and Political Programmes.”
In a press statement issued on April 17, 2026, the NBC claimed that “broadcast platforms are increasingly being deployed in ways that depart from their core obligation to inform the public with accuracy, balance, and professionalism. The Commission, therefore, warned “broadcasters and stakeholders that it will enforce strict and uncompromised compliance with every provision of the Code, particularly, those relating to fairness, balance, accuracy, hate speech, incitement and respect for constitutional bodies.”
The Commission reminded and drew the attention of broadcasters to sections of the Code that say that a broadcaster shall ensure that their presenters do not express their opinion in the programme, as a matter of professional standard; that all side to any issue of public interest are equitably presented for fairness and balance; that all sides to an issue are equitably presented, preferably in the same broadcast; and that the broadcaster shall, in using political materials for news and current affairs programme, avoid hate speech, inflammatory, derogatory and divisive remarks or allusions.
It also warned against the continued misuse of broadcast platforms by political actors, saying it has documented a rising trend of political actors across party lines using broadcast platforms to promote content in violation of a number of the Code, including the following:
• Section 3.1.1.- “No broadcast shall encourage or incite to crime and lead to public disorder or hate, be repugnant to any person or organizational alive or dead or generally be disrespectful to human dignity”.
• Section 3.11.l(a)- “language or scene likely to encourage or incite to crime, or lead to disorder, is not broadcast.”
• Section 5.4. (f)- “The broadcaster shall not transmit divisive materials or compromise the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a sovereign state.”
• Section 3.11.l(b)- “… no 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. (b)- “The broadcaster shall exhibit professionalism in handling the transmission especially sensitive issues as politics, communal conflicts and wars.”
The NBC warned that, henceforth, 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 shall be deemed to have committed a Class B breach.
It cautioned against the use of broadcast platforms for hate speech, personal attacks, or content inciting disorder along political lines.
It stated that the Code places a non-transferable obligation on broadcasters to exercise editorial judgment at all times, including during live programming, adding that editorial responsibility cannot be abdicated to guests.
The NBC said it places all broadcasters on formal notice, noting that strict compliance with the Nigeria Broadcasting Code will be enforced across all news, current affairs, and political programmes.
It then called on broadcasters to ensure fairness, balance, accuracy, and right of reply in all content, warning that inflammatory, divisive, or unsubstantiated broadcasts will attract regulatory sanctions.
The NBC said compliance is mandatory, not discretionary.
The Commission cautioned that as Nigeria enters a critical electoral period, the airwaves must not amplify tension or propagate misinformation, but must remain platforms for credible information, responsible discourse, and national cohesion.
