Court dismisses another appeal against judgment banning NBC from fining broadcast stations

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) challenging a Federal High Court judgment that barred the commission from imposing fines on broadcast stations.

Delivering judgment, Justice Jane Esienanwan Inyang held that the appeal was “fundamentally defective” and therefore incompetent.

The appeal arose from a January 17, 2024 judgment by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which restrained the NBC from enforcing N5 million fines imposed on several broadcast stations in 2022. The sanctions had been issued over allegations that the stations undermined Nigeria’s national security by airing documentaries on banditry and insecurity in the country.

The affected broadcasters included Multichoice Nigeria Limited, owners of DStv, TelCom Satellite Limited (TSTV), Trust TV Network Limited and NTA StarTimes Limited. The case was initiated by Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a media rights advocacy organisation that challenged the legality of the fines.

In her ruling, Justice Inyang noted a critical discrepancy in the appeal documents. She explained that the respondent before the Federal High Court was listed as the “National Broadcasting Commission,” while the notice of appeal identified the appellant as the “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission.” According to the court, the inconsistency was significant and deprived the appellate court of the jurisdiction required to hear the appeal.

“The notice of appeal is the foundation of an appeal and a condition precedent to the exercise of appellate jurisdiction by this court,” Justice Inyang held. As a result, the court struck out the appeal without considering the substantive issues raised by the commission.

The ruling marks another legal setback for the NBC in its efforts to defend its power to sanction broadcasters. In April 2026, the Court of Appeal also dismissed a separate appeal filed by the commission against another judgment that prohibited it from imposing fines on broadcast stations.

Earlier, in May 2023, the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that the NBC lacked the judicial authority to impose penalties on media organisations. The controversy over NBC’s sanctioning powers dates back several years. In March 2019, the commission fined 45 broadcast stations N500,000 each for alleged violations of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code during the general elections.

At the time, the then Director-General of the NBC, Is’haq Kawu, said the penalties were imposed for ethical breaches and violations of broadcasting regulations. The latest Court of Appeal ruling further reinforces previous judicial decisions limiting the commission’s authority to impose fines on broadcasters without recourse to the courts.