The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has applied to the Court of Appeal in Abuja for permission to file a fresh appeal against a Federal High Court judgement which barred it from imposing fines on broadcast stations.
The application follows the Court of Appeal’s decision on 17 June 2026 to strike out the commission’s earlier appeal after finding it to be fundamentally defective and incompetent.
In a motion filed through its counsel, Dapo Akinosun, the NBC is seeking an extension of time to challenge the judgement delivered on 10 January 2024 by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court.
The case stems from a suit instituted by Media Rights Agenda challenging the commission’s decision to impose fines of ₦5 million each on Multichoice Nigeria Limited, owners of DStv, TelCom Satellite Limited, Trust TV Network Limited and NTA StarTimes Limited.
The sanctions were imposed after the broadcasters aired documentaries on banditry and insecurity in Zamfara State, which the NBC alleged posed a threat to national security.
In the judgement, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia held that the commission acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally by imposing the fines, ruling that the NBC lacked judicial authority to sanction broadcasters because it is a regulatory agency rather than a court of law.
The commission’s initial appeal was subsequently struck out after the appellant was incorrectly identified in the court documents as the “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission” instead of its statutory name, the “National Broadcasting Commission”.
In its fresh application, the NBC argued that the case raises issues of significant public importance concerning its statutory powers to regulate broadcasting and enforce compliance with the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
The commission contended that allowing the Federal High Court judgement to stand without appellate review could create uncertainty over its regulatory authority and undermine its ability to discharge its statutory responsibilities.
According to the NBC, the subsisting judgement has the potential to weaken the regulatory framework governing the broadcasting industry and encourage non-compliance with established broadcasting standards.
It further argued that diminished regulatory oversight could facilitate the dissemination of false, misleading or unverified information capable of causing public anxiety, panic and social unrest, while also encouraging irresponsible broadcasting practices.
The commission maintained that its proposed appeal raises substantial legal issues with implications for broadcasters, content creators, regulators and media consumers across the country.
The NBC also informed the court that it had instructed its lawyers to appeal the judgement immediately after it was delivered and that the original notice of appeal was filed on 18 March 2024 within the statutory time limit.
It attributed the failure of the earlier appeal to an inadvertent error by its legal counsel in incorrectly stating the commission’s statutory name in the notice of appeal.
In addition, the NBC is seeking leave to raise a fresh issue on appeal concerning the legal capacity of Media Rights Agenda to institute and maintain the suit before the Federal High Court.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the application.
