SECTOR 2

2.4 Transparency of ownership of media houses in
print/broadcasting is guaranteed by law and enforced.
Owners of most news outlets are well-known, or the public thinks they know
them. In reality, the real owners of news organisations often operate from the
shadows, using publicly known faces only as fronts. It is therefore difficult to
know who the real owners of some news organisations are, with certainty.
A few news organisations also operate without any public hint on who the owners
are. No one really knew who owned National Interest, for example. Several names
have been cited but no one is certain. Records on the ownership of AdabaFM,
a radio station, are also murky. Its broadcast license is reported to have been
transferred from one person to the other, but it is unclear to whom.
Opacity in ownership in the broadcast sector is promoted by the licencing
process. Scores of broadcast licences have been acquired but not exploited and
it is believed that the real licence owners often rent or sell broadcast licences to
others. Daily Trust once reported that more than 72 broadcasting licences were
issued just before the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan transferred
power. It is hard to find these names in public records.

Scores:
Individual scores:
1

Country does not meet indicator

2

Country meets only a few aspects of indicator

3

Country meets some aspects of indicator

4

Country meets most aspects of indicator

5

Country meets all aspects of the indicator

Average score:

1.6 (2008: N/A; 2011: N/A)

2.5 Adequate competition legislation/regulation seeks
to prevent media concentration and monopolies.
Nigerian cross-ownership rules5 appear straightforward: a person may own two
radio stations plus not more than one TV channel, and vice versa. The law also
prohibits the creation of private radio or television networks.
In general however, these requirements are violated and media concentration
is common. In spite of the law, Silver Bird, Ray Power and AIT already operate
networks. Beyond inadequate law enforcement, the lack of transparency in
5

30

Nigeria Broadcasting Commission Act

AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NIGERIA 2015

Select target paragraph3