The Federal High Court in Lagos has restrained the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from imposing fines, threatening sanctions, or suspending broadcast licenses of independent media houses using its Act or the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Nicholas Oweibo in June but disclosed on Sunday by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), declared the NBC’s actions unconstitutional. The suit was filed by SERAP and the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) in response to N5 million fines imposed on Trust TV, Multichoice Nigeria Limited, NTA-Startimes Limited, and TelcCom Satellite Limited for broadcasting a documentary on terrorism.
The judge ruled that the NBC lacks the legal authority to impose penalties or withdraw licenses, describing the fines as null and void. He granted six declarations and orders against the commission, stating:
“The act of imposing fines on independent media houses is unlawful, inconsistent with, and amounts to a breach of the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality, violating rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom.”
The court also declared that:
- Using the Broadcasting Code to impose sanctions without court recourse breaches the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights treaties.
- Provisions of the NBC Act and Broadcasting Code used to penalize media houses are inconsistent with constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and media independence.
- A perpetual injunction restrains the NBC from further imposing fines, suspensions, or license withdrawals on media houses.
An order was also issued nullifying the N5 million fines levied against the affected stations, which aired the BBC documentary Bandits Warlords of Zamfara.
SERAP and CJID had argued that the fines were arbitrary, illegal, and did not pose a threat to national security or public order, as claimed by the NBC.
