BREAKING: Court Stops National Broadcasting Commission From Imposing Fines On Broadcast Stations In Nigeria
The pick said NBC is no longer a court docket of legislation, and as a consequence of this truth, lacks the energy to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has stopped the Nationwide Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from further imposing fines on broadcast stations in Nigeria.
The court docket on Wednesday gave an show of perpetual injunction restraining NBC from imposing fines, henceforth, on broadcast stations within the country.
In his judgement, Justice James Omotosho voided the N500,000 elegant imposed personally on 45 broadcast stations on March 1, 2019.
The pick said NBC is no longer a court docket of legislation, and as a consequence of this truth, lacks the energy to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations.
He described the NBC Code, which offers the cost the energy to impose sanctions, as being in conflict with Allotment 6 of the Structure which vests judicial energy within the court docket of legislation.
He said the NBC Code would no longer confer judicial powers on the cost.
Justice Omotosho asserted that the court docket would no longer sit down lazy and survey a physique impose fines arbitrarily with out recourse to the legislation.
“This could well hasten in opposition to the doctrine of separation of powers,” he said, describing the circulation of the respondent as “excessive”.
The Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda had sued NBC, searching for a declaration that the sanctions process applied by the cost in imposing a elegant of N500,000 on each of the 45 broadcast stations used to be a violation of the principles of natural justice.
In one more model, on Monday, SaharaReporters reported that Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja granted MRA permission to sue NBC in two separate conditions.
MRA sued the Commission for its failure to grant the organisation’s requests for files on the scope of independence reportedly granted it by President Muhammadu Buhari and details of the 302 broadcasting stations it said it sanctioned in four months after campaigns for the 2023 elections started in September 2022.
Right here is contained in an announcement signed by Idowu Adewale (Mr.), Communications Officer, Media Rights Agenda.
In step with the impart, Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha granted MRA leave to beget a look at to the court docket to compel the NBC to construct within the market to it the recommendations it requested after hearing arguments from the organisation’s lawyers in two separate ex parte motions in which it complained that the Commission had failed to respond to 2 separate capabilities for files – the first dated February 17, 2023, and signed by Ms Maimuna Momoh, a Programme Officer at MRA; and a 2nd letter dated February 20, 2023, and signed by Mr. Monday Arunsi, MRA’s Proper Officer.
