Court bars NBC from placing fines on broadcast stations
Judge Ofili-Ajumogobia ruled that the NBC had exceeded its authority in issuing sanctions because it was not a court of law.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) power to sanction broadcast stations for suspected violations of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code has been overturned by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In 2022, the Commission fined a television station and three pay TV platforms N5 million each for allegedly undermining Nigeria’s national security by airing documentaries on banditry in the country. The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) filed a lawsuit against the NBC. Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia delivered the ruling in this suit, ruling that the NBC, not being a court of law, had exceeded its authority by imposing these fines.
The Nigeria Broadcasting Code’s sections allowing the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to fine broadcast stations for suspected violations of the code were deemed unlawful by the judge, who also held that administrative and regulatory organizations could not exercise judicial powers.
A perpetual injunction prohibiting the Commission or anyone acting on its behalf from further fining any media platform or broadcast station in Nigeria for any alleged violation of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code was issued by the judge, who commended MRA for opposing the NBC’s action.
Uche Amulu, an attorney based in Abuja, filed the lawsuit on behalf of MRA, requesting that the court declare that the NBC’s action of fining all media platforms and the station for airing a documentary about the security and banditry situation in Zamfara State is illegal, unconstitutional, and has a chilling effect on the freedom of the media to disseminate information.
MRA argued that it would prevent the platforms and station from reporting the truth about Nigeria’s security situation, and as such, it would violate the freedom of expression rights of MRA, its members, and other Nigerian citizens, particularly the right to receive information and ideas without hindrance, as guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the Constitution.
The Commission is the one who drafted the Code, which outlines the alleged offenses for which the media platforms and the station were punished. The Code also gives the NBC the authority to receive complaints, look into and decide on the complaints, impose fines, and collect fines. According to MRA, the NBC’s approach in enforcing the fines was a flagrant violation of the rules of natural justice and the right to a fair hearing under Section 36 of the Constitution and Article 7 of the African Charter.