A federal court has barred a Nigerian government regulator perpetually from imposing fines on broadcast stations in what is clearly a big win for the media and freedom of the press.
The court in Abuja on Wednesday issued an order of “perpetual injunction” against the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and dismissed a N500,000 fine the regulator placed on 45 broadcast stations in 2019.
Nigerian television and radio stations frequently face stringent sanctions from the NBC for airing reports the government vaguely categorises as “hate speech” or claims could stir unrest.
In April, the body fined the privately-owned Channel TV N5 million for an interview in which the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party Datti Baba-Ahmed opposed the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president. Mr Baba-Ahmed said the planned swearing in of Mr Tinubu, whose election is being challenged in court, could end Nigeria’s democracy.
The NBC fined privately-run Daily Trust TV last August after the paper in partnership with the BBC published a report showing unreported details of banditry attacks in the country’s north-west region.
The Broadcast Organization of Nigeria condemned the decision as a “violation of the National Broadcasting Code.”
– Null and void
Critics accuse the NBC of lacking the powers to suspend broadcast channels or fine them, questioning its authority to accuse, prosecute and judge.
In his ruling, Justice James Omotosho agreed that the NBC was not a court and could not impose sanctions, the News Agency of Nigeria reported Wednesday.
He said the NBC Code, which gives the commission the power to impose sanctions, is in conflict with the constitution that vests judicial power in the courts.
The judge said the commission lacked the power to investigate and impose sanctions, saying those powers belong to the police and the courts.
“This will go against the doctrine of separation of powers,” he said.
Justice Omotosho said what the doctrine sought to achieve was to prevent tyranny by concentrating too much powers in one organ.
“The action of the respondent qualifies as excessiveness,” he said.
The judge described the NBC law as “ultra vires” and ruled that fines enforced by the NBC “unconstitutional, null and void.”
– Violation of right to fair hearing
The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, a Lagos-based non-profit focused on promoting press freedom after the NBC on March 1, 2019, asked 45 broadcast stations to pay N500,000 for “violating” its code.
The group said the sanctions violated natural justice and the right to fair hearing.
It said code gave the NBC powers to “receive complaints of alleged breaches, investigate and adjudicate the complaints, impose sanctions, including fines, and ultimately collect the fines, which the commission uses for its own purposes.”
It was not immediately clear whether the NBC would appeal the ruling.
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