Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, declared null and void the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code authorising National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to impose fines on broadcast stations for breaches of the code.
The court ruled that administrative and regulatory bodies could not exercise judicial powers.
The judgment was on a suit instituted by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) against the NBC following the Commission’s imposition of fines of N5 million each on a television station and three pay TV platforms in 2022 for allegedly undermining Nigeria’s national security by broadcasting documentaries on banditry in Nigeria.
Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia held that the NBC, not being a court of law, acted above its powers by imposing such fines. The judge commended MRA for its legal challenge of the NBC’s action and issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Commission or anyone acting on its behalf from further imposing any fine on any media platform or broadcast station in Nigeria for any alleged offence committed under the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
