The Federal High Court in Lagos has restrained the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the regulatory authority for broadcasting in Nigeria, from using its Act or the Nigeria Broadcasting Code to impose fines, threaten sanctions or suspend broadcast stations and other independent media houses.
According to a statement published on Sunday by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a rights group involved in the suit, Justice Nicholas Oweibo gave the ruling in June but the certified true copy of the judgment came on Friday.
SERAP and the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) had filed a suit against the NBC in 2022 for imposing N5 million fines on Trust TV, Multichoice Nigeria Limited, NTA-Startimes Limited and TelcCom Satellite Limited, for broadcasting a report on terrorism.
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However, the judge ruled that not only does the NBC and its agent lack the legal power to impose penalties and fines, but they also do not have the legal authority to suspend broadcast organisations or even withdraw their licences.
The judge also said that the N5 million fines issued against the broadcast stations are null and void. So, they have been set aside. He also went ahead to grant six prayers against the NBC.
“A declaration is hereby made that the act of the Defendants imposing a fine of Five Million Naira each on the independent media houses is unlawful, inconsistent with, and amounts to a breach of the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and therefore a violation of the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom,” the judge’s declaration reads.
“A declaration is hereby made that the use of the Broadcasting Code by the NBC to impose sanctions on the independent media houses for alleged infractions without recourse to the court constitutes an infringement on the provisions of sections 6[1] & [6][b] and 36[1] of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 and Articles 1 and 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.
“A declaration is hereby made that the provisions of the National Broadcasting Commission Act and the Nigeria Broadcasting Code which are arbitrarily being used by the Defendants to sanction, harass, intimidate and restrict the independent media houses are inconsistent and incompatible with sections 36[1], 39 and 22 of the Nigerian Constitution, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and are null and void to the extent of their inconsistency and incompatibility.
“A declaration is hereby made that the Defendants lack the legal power and authority to impose penalty unlawfully and unilaterally, including fines, suspension, withdrawal of license or any form of punishment whatsoever on the independent media houses for promoting access to diverse opinions and information on issues of public importance.
“An order of court is hereby made setting aside the fine of Five Million Naira imposed by the Defendants, through the 3rd Defendant, each on Trust TV, Multichoice Nigeria Limited, TelCom Satellite Limited (TSTV) and NTA-Startimes Limited for televising the documentary by the British Broadcasting Corporation “BBC Africa Eye” titled “Bandits Warlords of Zamfara”
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“An order of perpetual injunction is hereby made restraining the Defendants or any other authority, persons or group of persons from unlawfully shutting down, imposing fine, suspension, withdrawal of license or doing anything whatsoever to harass and intimidate or impose criminal punishment on the independent media houses or any of Nigeria’s journalists and media houses for promoting access to diverse information on issues of public importance.”
In August 2022, SERAP and CJID filed a lawsuit against ex-president Mohammadu Buhari and Lai Mohammed, his Minister of Information and Culture, alongside the NBC, in a joint suit marked ‘FHC/L/CS/1486/2022′.
They argued that the fines the NBC imposed were arbitrary and illegal. They also stated that the documentaries posed no risk to any definite interest in national security or public order and neither did it glorify terrorism and banditry as described by the government.
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