The Federal High Court in Abuja has barred the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from imposing fines on broadcast stations in Nigeria.
The court’s judgment, delivered by Justice James Omotosho, stated that the NBC lacked the power to impose sanctions on any broadcast station because it is not a court of law. The court held that the NBC Code, which gives the Commission the power to impose sanctions, was in conflict with the Nigerian Constitution, which vests judicial powers in the court of law.
The court also declared the N500,000 fine the Commission imposed on 45 broadcast stations on March 1, 2019, as illegal and voided it. The ruling was made in response to a suit filed by a group called the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, which argued that the NBC’s action against the 45 media outfits in 2019 violated their rights to fair hearing under Nigerian law and international human rights law.
