By Edwin Nwachukwu

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to allow it file a fresh appeal against a Federal High Court judgment that stopped it from imposing fines on broadcast stations.

The request follows the Court of Appeal’s June 17, 2026 decision that struck out the Commission’s earlier appeal because it was “fundamentally defective” and incompetent.

The NBC filed the fresh application through Abuja-based lawyer, Mr. Dapo Akinosun (SAN). It wants the court to extend the time to appeal the January 10, 2024 judgment delivered by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court.

The case started after Media Rights Agenda (MRA) challenged the NBC’s decision to fine four broadcasters ₦5 million each. The Commission accused the stations of undermining Nigeria’s national security by airing documentaries on banditry and insecurity in Zamfara State.

Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia ruled that the NBC acted unlawfully because it has no legal power to impose fines on broadcasters. She held that only a court of law can impose such penalties.

The judgment affected Multichoice Nigeria Limited, owners of DStv, TelCom Satellite Limited (TSTV), Trust-TV Network Limited and NTA StarTimes Limited.

The Court of Appeal struck out the NBC’s first appeal on June 17, 2026.

The court said the appeal documents wrongly described the appellant as the “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission” instead of the “National Broadcasting Commission.”

The NBC argued that the judgment raises issues of major public importance. It said the ruling affects its legal powers to regulate broadcasting and enforce the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

The Commission warned that leaving the judgment unchallenged could create uncertainty over its regulatory authority. It also argued that weaker oversight could encourage broadcasters to ignore standards and increase the spread of false, misleading and unverified information capable of causing panic and social unrest.

The NBC claimed poor regulation could encourage irresponsible broadcasting and the misuse of broadcast and digital media platforms to spread sensational or inflammatory content that could intimidate people and influence public debate.

The Commission said it instructed its lawyers to appeal the judgment immediately after it was delivered on January 10, 2024. It added that the first appeal was filed on March 18, 2024, within the time allowed by law.

The NBC said the appeal failed because its lawyer mistakenly used the name “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission” instead of its statutory name, “National Broadcasting Commission.”

The Commission also asked the Court of Appeal for permission to raise a fresh issue on whether Media Rights Agenda had the legal capacity to file the original suit before the Federal High Court.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the application.
External Links
Media Rights Agenda: https://mediarightsagenda.org
National Broadcasting Commission: https://nbc.gov.ng
National Judicial Council (Federal Courts information): https://njc.gov.ng

Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has secured another court victory against the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as the Court of Appeal in Abuja struck out the commission’s appeal seeking to overturn a judgment barring it from imposing fines on broadcast stations.

In a unanimous decision delivered on Tuesday, Justice Jane Esienanwan Inyang held that the NBC’s Notice of Appeal was fundamentally defective and incompetent, depriving the appellate court of jurisdiction to hear the matter.

The court identified a discrepancy in the identity of the appellant, while the original case before the Federal High Court listed the parties as the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda and the National Broadcasting Commission, the appeal was filed in the name of the “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission.”

Justice Inyang ruled that the inconsistency was a fundamental defect that rendered the appeal incompetent.

“The Notice of Appeal and the accompanying briefs are fundamentally defective and do not and cannot confer jurisdiction on this Court to hear and determine the appeal,” she held.

According to the court, a valid Notice of Appeal is the foundation of any appeal process, and where such a notice is defective, the court lacks the authority to entertain the case.

The appeal stemmed from a January 17, 2024 judgment by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The suit was filed by MRA after the NBC imposed N5 million fines on four broadcast platforms on August 3, 2022 for airing documentaries on banditry and insecurity in Zamfara State, which the commission claimed undermined national security.

The affected organisations were Multichoice Nigeria Limited (DSTV), TelCom Satellite Limited (TSTV), Trust-TV Network Limited, and NTA Startimes Limited.

Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia ruled that the sanctions were unlawful and unconstitutional, holding that they violated the rights to freedom of expression and access to information guaranteed under Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Inyang stressed that jurisdiction cannot be conferred on a court through consent, waiver, acquiescence, or participation by parties.

She concluded that because the appeal was not initiated by the same legal entity that participated in the Federal High Court proceedings, there was effectively no valid appeal before the court.

The court subsequently struck out the appeal for incompetence.

The latest ruling comes months after the Court of Appeal, on April 2, 2026, dismissed another NBC appeal challenging an earlier judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho on May 10, 2023.

In that judgment, Justice Omotosho held that fines are criminal sanctions and can only be imposed by courts of law, not by regulatory agencies.

The judge had also dismissed an NBC application in November 2023 seeking to set aside that decision, further strengthening judicial restrictions on the commission’s powers to impose fines on broadcasters.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lagos, Thursday, March 7, 2024:  The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has lodged an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja against the November 23, 2023, ruling by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja in which he dismissed the Commission’s motion to set aside his judgment delivered on May 10, 2023, restraining the NBC from further imposing fines on radio and televisions stations.

In a Notice of Appeal filed on its behalf by Mr. Babajide Koku (SAN), leading Mr. Victor Ogude (SAN), Mr. Kehinde Wilkey, and Ms Aanuoluwapo Babalola, the NBC is asking the Appeal Court to set aside the ruling and grant the Commission’s application to set aside the judgment delivered on May 10, 2023.

The judgment arose from a suit instituted by Abuja-based lawyer, Mr. Noah Ajare, on behalf of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), challenging the powers of the NBC to fine broadcasters, following a March 1, 2019 announcement by the NBC that it had imposed a fine of N500,000 each on 45 broadcast stations for alleged contraventions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

In his May 10, 2023 judgment, Justice Omotosho ruled that fines are sanctions imposed on a person who has been found guilty of a criminal offence and that under the law in Nigeria, only courts of law are empowered to impose sanctions for criminal offences.

In setting aside the fines of N500,000 each imposed on the stations, he held that the NBC “is neither a Court nor a judicial tribunal to make pronouncements on the guilt of broadcast stations notwithstanding what the NBC Code says,” adding that the Commission’s action violated the Constitution.

The NBC said in its 4-ground notice of appeal that it is complaining about the entire decision.

Its first ground of appeal is that Justice Omotosho erred in Law when he refused to set aside the judgment, which the NBC alleged, was demonstrated before him to have been deceitfully obtained on the ground that the NBC was indolent and ought to have raised the objection in the substantive suit timeously.

In the particulars of error, the NBC said the law confers on a court the inherent power to review and set aside its earlier judgment on grounds of fraud and deceit if those grounds are subsequently brought to its knowledge and demonstrated to exist and alleged that by failing to set aside its earlier judgment in the face of evidence of fraud, the court permitted MRA to perpetuate and/or enjoy the benefit of the fraud practised on the court.

The second ground of appeal is that the judge erred in law when he held that he would not set aside his earlier judgment because “res judicata” was not a ground for settling aside a default judgment.

In its particulars of error, the NBC said the judge overlooked the fact that res judicata is an objection that goes to the root of the jurisdiction of a court to entertain a subsequent claim that has been previously adjudicated between the same parties and that res judicata is a jurisdictional ground on which an application to set aside a default judgment can be founded upon.

The NBC’s third ground of appeal is that the judge erred in law when he held that “In the final analysis, the application by the Respondent/Applicant (NBC) has no substance for being an afterthought and a belated attempt at challenging the jurisdiction of the court.

This court is functus officio in this matter and therefore refuses the application of the Respondent/Applicant”.

In its particulars of error, the NBC claimed that the judge’s decision negated his earlier finding in the same ruling that the principle that a court is functus officio and thus precluded from reviewing its earlier ruling is not absolute and allows exceptions, adding that the judge conceded that a ruling could be set aside on grounds of fraud, deceit and abuse of court process.

It also alleged that the judge conceded the presence of the features of abuse of court process by MRA and ought to have set aside the ruling.

In its fourth ground of appeal, NBC said the judge erred in law when he found that a party who is the victim of a default judgment fraudulently obtained would not be entitled to the indulgence of a court of law if it applies to set aside the judgment belatedly without having taken the opportunity of appearing to raise those issues in its defence to the substantive claim.

In its particulars of error, the NBC said the law and, in particular, the rules of the Federal High Court, permit a party against whom a default judgment was obtained to subsequently apply to have such a judgment set aside on recognized grounds and that a party ought not to be punished nor shut out from approaching the court to seek a legal remedy conferred on it by law.

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, barred the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from imposing fines on “erring” broadcast stations in the country.

Ruling in an order of perpetual injunction filed by the Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Justice James Omotosho held that the NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations.

Omotosho, in a judgment on Wednesday, also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed on March 1, 2019, on each of the 45 broadcast stations.

According to him, the NBC Code which gives the commission the power to impose sanction is in conflict with Section 6 of the Constitution that vested judicial power in the court of law.

He noted that “the court would not sit idle and watch a body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law”, adding that the commission did not comply with the law when it sat as a complainant and at the same time, the court and the judge on its own matter.

Omotosho agreed that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, being a subsidiary legislation that empowers an administrative body such as the NBC to enforce its provisions, cannot confer judicial powers on the commission to impose criminal sanctions or penalties such as fines.

Persecondnews recalls that the NBC had on March 1, 2019, imposed the sum of N500,000 each on 45 broadcast stations in the country over alleged violation of its code.

This action led to the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda had, in an originating motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1386/2021, to sue the NBC as sole respondent in the suit.

In the motion by its lawyer, Noah Ajare, the group sought a declaration that the sanctions procedure applied by the NBC in imposing N500,000 fines on each of the 45 broadcast stations on March 1, 2019, was a violation of the rules of natural justice, as he sought an order setting aside the N500,000 fines purportedly imposed by the NBC on each of the 45 broadcast stations.

According to the lawyer, the fines were in violation of the right to fair hearing under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Articles 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap AQ) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) says it has sanctioned 25 stations for contravening the Nigeria Broadcasting Code during the Feb. 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.

According to NBC’s Director-General, Malam Balarabe Ilelah, the commission served warning letters to 16 other erring stations.

Ilelah, who spoke at a news conference in Abuja, said some of the stations allowed their platforms to be used by guests, callers, and analysts to score unhealthy political points inimical to the corporate existence of the country.

He cautioned broadcast stations to be professional in the discharge of their duties.

“Prior to and during the recently-concluded presidential and National Assembly elections, the Commission sanctioned 25 broadcast stations.

“Sixteen others were given final warnings over contravention of the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

“Seventeen stations received sanctions for the broadcast of partisan content during the 24 hours prior to the election.

“One station was sanctioned for announcing results before authorised returning officers made them public, while three stations were sanctioned for inciting comments.

“Four stations were sanctioned for divisive, ethnic and religious content, while 16 stations were given final warnings for various infringements,’’ he said.

Ilelah cautioned broadcasters against the violation of the code during the governorship and Houses of Assembly elections coming up on March 18.

“The Commission re-emphasises that as the gubernatorial and Houses of Assembly elections approach, all broadcasters must adhere strictly to the provisions of the code.

“They must also adhere to the National Broadcasting Act CAP N11 Laws of the Federation, 2004.

“The code admonishes broadcasters to ensure that the broadcast of a political campaign, jingle, announcement and any other form of partisan identification or symbol ends not later than 24 hours before polling day.

“It states that any vote obtained at a polling station or from an exit poll should not be used to project or speculate on the chances of a candidate.

“Very importantly, it states that election results or declaration of the winner can only be made by the authorised electoral officer for the election.

“Broadcasters shall be responsible for the content of the station’s broadcast,’’ Ilelah said.

He commended the media for the very positive role they play in society, particularly in the democratic process and in national development. 

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has described the decision by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) decision to revoke the licenses of 52 broadcast stations nationwide over indebtedness to the Commission was ill advised and hasty.

The union stated this in a press statement by Mr Chris Isiguzo, the National President of NUJ.

He said that the affected stations, according to NBC are said to owe arrears of licence fees amounting to N2.6 billon since 2015.

“Although the Director General of NBC, Malam Balarabe Shehu Ilelah claimed that this development had no political motives, yet we insist that the action was ill timed and reckless.

“It should be noted that this wholesale revocation of licences at this critical time of insecurity in the Country appears to be a decision taken without careful prior deliberation, consultation or counsel. 

“While we regret the inability of these broadcast stations to fulfill their obligations to NBC, in-view of dwindling resources, we caution against such large scale clampdown of broadcast stations in disregard to security issues and the attendant consequence.

“We cannot afford the unpleasant outcome of such media blackout at this time. 

“We call on NBC to exercise more restraint on this issue in consideration of national security and allow for more dialogue and consultation to find a better way of dealing with the situation,’’ the NUJ president said. 

In the same vein, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has expressed concern over the shutting down of over 50 broadcast stations by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for failing to pay their renewal licence fees. 

In a press statement signed by its President, Mustapha Isah and the General Secretary, Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the professional body of all the editors in Nigeria said that the action, if not reversed, will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs in a country where jobs are scarce. 

“The NGE is worried because media houses, which played and continue to pay a key role in the nurturing and  development of democracy can’t just be off air no matter the reasons. 

“While the Guild is not against broadcast stations fulfilling their financial obligations to the NBC, we note that the current harsh operating environment that has crippled every sector in our nation was not taken into account by the NBC before its action.

“Currently, it is difficult for private stations to import broadcast equipment due to the high exchange rate. We are all aware of the high operational cost, including the cost of diesel to power their generating sets”, the NGE stated.

The Guild added that several broadcast stations are just managing to survive in the midst of the high competition in the industry following the licencing of hundreds of more stations by the NBC. 

The NGE called for a review of the NBC Act to increase the lifespan of a broadcast licence from five to at least 10 years. 

The body of editors also advocated a reduction of the licence fees considering the fact that several broadcast stations now operates in the country, saying for instance, the Lagos zone alone now has close to 50 radio stations. 

The NGE tasked the NBC to enter into dialogue with the affected stations to restructure the debts owed and work out convenient payment period to ensure their survival. 

According to the statement, “A caring government should be concerned about the possibility of job losses than revenue generation. After all, one of the functions of the NBC is working for the survival and the development of the broadcast industry.”

“A critical stakeholder in the nation’s democratic space cannot be shut out at this critical moment of our democracy, especially when the country is preparing for the 2023 general election.”

The NGE, therefore urged the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria and the Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria to enter into a dialogue with the NBC with a view  to find a lasting solution to this recurring issue of licence renewal fees, which often lead to  threats of shutdown.