Oil Output Likely To Fall

September 2008 | Ratings Update

The Nigerian government revoked the broadcasting license of Channels Television, one of Nigeria's biggest private television stations, on September 17, and arrested three of its staff, after a news programme falsely reported that Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua might resign for health reasons. The revocation sparked a large public outcry amid allegations that the move was conducted in an illegal manner, and on September 19 the authorities reversed the suspension. The news report in question was based on an email allegedly sent from the official News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), though NAN has denied this, and gained credence because it followed confirmed reports that the president had received medical treatment in Saudi Arabia during a two week trip there. We give Nigeria a rating of 3 out of 4 for media freedom in our long-term political risk ratings.

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