NBC seeks fresh appeal against court ruling voiding broadcast fines
The National Broadcasting Commission has returned to the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking permission to file a fresh appeal against a Federal High Court judgment that barred it from imposing fines on broadcast stations.
The application followed the June 17, 2026, decision of the Court of Appeal to strike out the commission’s earlier appeal on the grounds that it was “fundamentally defective” and incompetent.
In a motion filed through its counsel, Dapo Akinosun (SAN), the NBC is asking the appellate court to extend the time within which it can challenge the January 10, 2024, judgment delivered by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court.
The dispute originated from a suit filed by Media Rights Agenda challenging the NBC’s decision to impose N5 million fines each on Multichoice Nigeria Limited, owners of DStv; TelCom Satellite Limited; Trust-TV Network Limited; and NTA Startimes Limited.
The sanctions followed the broadcasters’ transmission of documentaries on banditry and insecurity in Zamfara State, which the NBC alleged undermined national security.
However, in her judgment, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia held that the commission acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally by imposing the fines, ruling that the NBC lacked the judicial authority to sanction broadcasters because it was not a court of law.
The commission subsequently lodged an appeal against the judgment. However, the Court of Appeal struck out the case after discovering that the appellant had been described in the notice of appeal as the “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission” rather than its statutory name, the “National Broadcasting Commission.”
In its latest application, the NBC argued that the judgment raised issues of exceptional public importance concerning its statutory mandate to regulate broadcasting and enforce compliance with broadcasting standards.
The commission warned that allowing the Federal High Court judgment to remain unchallenged could create uncertainty over its regulatory powers and weaken the framework for regulating Nigeria’s broadcasting industry.
According to the NBC, the subsisting judgment could significantly affect its ability to discharge its statutory responsibilities effectively.
It further argued that a weakened regulatory regime could encourage non-compliance with broadcasting standards and increase the risk of false, misleading and unverified information capable of generating public anxiety, panic and social unrest.
The commission also expressed concern that the absence of effective regulatory oversight could encourage irresponsible broadcasting practices and the misuse of broadcast and digital platforms to disseminate sensational or inflammatory content.
The NBC maintained that the proposed appeal involved substantial questions affecting not only the parties to the original suit but also the broader broadcasting ecosystem, including broadcasters, content creators and media consumers.
The commission told the appellate court that it instructed its lawyers to challenge the Federal High Court judgment immediately after it was delivered and that its initial notice of appeal was filed on March 18, 2024, within the period prescribed by law.
It attributed the failure of the earlier appeal to what it described as an inadvertent error by its counsel, who incorrectly stated the commission’s statutory name in the notice of appeal.
The NBC is also seeking permission to raise a fresh issue concerning the legal capacity of Media Rights Agenda to institute and maintain the original suit before the Federal High Court.
The Court of Appeal has yet to fix a date for hearing the commission’s application.
If granted, the application will pave the way for the NBC to relaunch its challenge to the Federal High Court judgment and seek appellate clarification on the extent of its statutory powers to impose sanctions on broadcasters.
