NBC to Appeal Judgement Barring it from Imposing Fines

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) yesterday said it may appeal the judgement barring it from imposing fines on broadcast stations that breach Broadcasting Code.

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High, Abuja, had last Wednesday in a judgement given an order of perpetual injunction restraining NBC from imposing fines henceforth on broadcast stations in the country.

In a statement yesterday, the NBC said it had applied for a certified copy of the judgement.

The Director General of NBC, Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, said this decision was predicated on global best practice and the ethics of the legal profession where the commission as party to a suit could not freely comment on a judgement it has neither seen nor read.

However, he vowed the NBC will appeal against the court ruling when found to be in conflict with previous judgements of the court which empowers the commission to regulate broadcasting in the country.

Justice Omotosho held that the NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations. He also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed on March 1, 2019, on each of the 45 broadcast stations.

The court held that the NBC Code, which gives the commission the power to impose sanction, is in conflict with Section 6 of the Constitution that vested judicial power in the court of law.

He said the court would not sit idle and watch a body (NBC) imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law, adding the commission failed to comply with the law when it sat as a complainant and at the same time, the court and the judge on its own matter.