AIT vs. NBC

After the authentic report by the African Independent Television (AIT) about the Bellview ill- fated flight to Abuja, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) cut AIT out off broadcasting for 14hrs.

Their offence? Showing pictures of the crash site.

Do AIT deserve commendation or punishment for breaking the news which almighty CNN and our NTA could not give?

AIT was doing what any news network would be expected to do, and that is to broadcast the news, no matter how shocking it is.  Whoever ordered the station shut down for showing footage of an aircraft crash is a person whose mentality harks back to the dark days of the Sanni Abacha dictatorship in Nigeria.  Bravo AIT.  Keep up the good work and honest reporting. 

Those would-be censors who shut down the AIT TV news station ought now to crawl back into their rat holes to resume gnawing on stale, doctored news tailored to their shallow minds.

AIT was reopened as at yesterday evening(orders from above). I beleive AIT must have told us that the pictures they were going to show could be disturbing which is what the tv stations always say if they want to show gory pictures. afterall channels was not shut down for showing live, the burning to death of the 11yr old boy that was said to be a kidnapper?
AIT should be commended for giving correct information as to where the crash took place.

Perhaps the government had alterior motives for wanting pictures covered up? Given that it was carrying government employee's perhaps there is something that they don't want known?


Now i'll stop acting like a conspircy theorist

Perhaps the government had alterior motives for wanting pictures covered up?

Really, there's nothing of that sort, the Lagos House of assembly has condemmed the action of NBC.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/cover/october05/25102005/f625102005.html

AIT deserves a medal for telling us the truth. NTA and government media agencies were telling us that the crash site is at Kishi in Oyo state, whereas it was in Ifo. I think AIT should sue NBC for illegally closing the station for 14hours which translates to loss of revenue in millions of naira.

yep razor, i quite agree with u.
right now sha, AIT is only requesting for an apology from NBC.

AIT should not have show dead body parts on the screen. Have you seen BBC or CNN show you dead body of british or americans on tv? Even during the Katrina wahala FOX that was live did not show any dead american black or white. We Nigerians are so simple and without understanding.

There are two sides to this issue.
NTA announced that there were survivors and that its reporters had spoken to them, when the station had not even located the crash site. This is unprofessionalism on the part of NTA and that is how AIT justifies itself for showing those scenes.
But AIT was in itself unprofessional. They were right to show the scene but why the close ups........that's where unprofessionalism starts........when families have not been informed, when people are still wandering exactly what happened.....
I don't know what else to say but its not practised in the US and other northern countries. CNN would gladly show you pics of quake victims in Kashmir but not identifying properties of victims in US UNTIL families have been informed. Why the difference? Its home and they don't want to put families in shock unprepared. Same for car crash victims, if the police have not located a family member, they won't give out the name to the press and even if the press find out, they won't publish it (except for softsells).

razor:

AIT deserves a medal for telling us the truth. NTA and government media agencies were telling us that the crash site is at Kishi in Oyo state, whereas it was in Ifo. I think AIT should sue NBC for illegally closing the station for 14hours which translates to loss of revenue in millions of naira.

men ur quite right

I have never seeing a country like this in my entire life, can you imagine prosecuting a right track finder. NBC or whatever should be ashamed of their act...

The Coalition for Militant Action in the Niger Delta has claimed “full” responsibility for Saturday’s air crash at Lissa Igbore in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, involving a Boeing 737 aircraft belonging to Bellview Airlines

Now this is crazy why would anyone want to kill fello Nigerians, what do they have to gain? if this state ment is true, I pray this goats decay in hell for their actions

Inhabitants of the villages closest to the crash site reported TWO exposions - one from the sky above, and the second louder blast on impact.  This lends credence to the possibility that a bomb had indeed been planted on the Bellview aircraft, possibly with a timing device or altitude-sensitive detonation circuitry.  Given the fact that the pilot had no time to issue a distress radio call, the probability diminishes that mechanical failure or pilot error caused the sudden departure from controlled flight. 

If indeed a bomb caused the crash, then an ominous new chapter has opened in the Niger Delta conflict, spreading the perils beyond the immediate area of insurgency.

@jakumo, the pilot did indeed make a distress call just before he lost contact with the control tower.
and as per those terrorists in the niger delta, they are just looking for attention, the plane would not have dug a 70ft hole in the ground if it had exploded in the air first. my guess is it hit d ground n exploded.

As an infrequent flier in Nigeria's unfriendly skies, I sure hope you are right that a bomb could not have caused the plane crash, Gentleone, but in the absence of an accident causative report by crash investigators, we are still dealing in the realm of conjecture regarding what bought that plane down.

I still harbor suspicions that a small explosive device could have disabled the plane's flight controls without blowing the aircraft to fragments, and that in such a circumstance the pilot may have had time to issue a mayday call, contrary to initial reports which claimed there was no radio call.

why would anyone want to kill fellow nigerians!

Do you live in Nigeria?

odeku killing is not a big deal in nigeria. i know lambert personally. he is a pilot with vast experience. i dont speculate the truth will come out one day

I am still furious up till now about the news that the place crashed in Kishi and that there are some survivors. I on my part will want the government to investigate this and find out who started this rumour. It is a great embarassment to the whole nation. How can someone spread a news that was not even confirmed. This must have led to more reason why AIT decided to show the crashed site uneditted, i.e to relieve all of us of the believe that there were survivor.

una dey hear am so?

Thank you o jare ejima. Don't mind them!

Old cock-a-doodle Story!!!!

But its high time, the govt stopped harassing journalists who have to do their work to expose the excesses of the three tiers of govt.