THE Court of Appeal in Abuja has struck out a fresh appeal by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) seeking to overturn a Federal High Court judgment restraining it from imposing fines on broadcast stations.
The decision, delivered by a three-member panel of the appellate court, also aligns with an earlier ruling reported on April 3, 2026, in which the Court of Appeal dismissed a similar NBC appeal and affirmed that regulatory agencies could not impose punitive fines on broadcasters.
A statement by the Media Rights Agenda on the ruling noted that the court, in the latest judgment, held that NBC’s Notice of Appeal was “fundamentally defective.” It further described the notice as incompetent, stripping the court of jurisdiction to hear the case.
The appeal arose from a January 17, 2024, judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, delivered by a judge, Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia. The court had declared as unlawful the NBC’s imposition of ₦5 million fines each on several broadcast stations over documentaries on banditry and insecurity in Zamfara State.
The affected media organisations included Multichoice Nigeria Limited (DSTV), TelCom Satellite Limited (TSTV), Trust-TV Network Limited, and NTA-Startimes Limited. The court had held that the sanctions violated constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression, particularly the right to receive and impart information under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“In her judgment, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia held that the NBC’s act of imposing fines of ₦5 million each on Multichoice Nigeria Limited, owners of DSTV; TelCom Satellite Limited (TSTV); Trust-TV Network Limited; and NTA Startimes Limited, was unlawful and unconstitutional, and constituted a violation of the rights of MRA, its members, and other citizens of Nigeria to freedom of expression, particularly their rights to receive ideas and information without interference, as guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights,” a statement by the MRA read in part.
It therefore struck out the appeal, holding that there was “no appeal in fact and in law before this court.”
The ICIR reports that the ruling followed an earlier judgment in a separate case, where the Court of Appeal upheld a May 2023 Federal High Court judgment delivered by James Omotosho.
In that decision, the court, on April 3, 2026, held that only courts of law, not regulatory agencies, have the authority to impose fines for alleged criminal offences.
Omotosho had set aside fines previously imposed by the NBC on 45 broadcast stations for alleged breaches of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, ruling that the Commission “is neither a court nor a judicial tribunal” and therefore could not determine criminal liability.
Dissatisfied with those rulings, the NBC pursued appeals at the appellate court. However, delivering the lead judgment, Oyejoju Oyewumi, a judge, upheld MRA’s arguments, ruling that the NBC’s appeal lacked merit.
She held that having failed to challenge the case at the Federal High Court, the commission could not raise issues at the appellate stage.
The ICIR reports that with the latest ruling MRA has secured victory in the two separate appeals involving the NBC over similar judgments of the Federal High Court restraining the commission from imposing fines on broadcast stations.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M