An order of perpetual injunction restraining the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from imposing fines, on broadcast stations in the country, was on Wednesday granted by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja.
Justice Omotosho in his ruling also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed on each of the 45 broadcast stations on the 1st of March, 2019.
Delivering the judgment, he lampooned the NBC act, describing it as being ultra vires.
He also held that NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations.
While delivering judgement, he pointed out that the NBC Code, which gives the commission the power to impose sanctions, is in conflict with Section 6 of the Constitution which vested judicial power in the court of law.
According to him, the court would not sit idle and watch a body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law.
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Justice Omotosho added that the commission broke the law by appearing before the court and the judge on its own case while also acting as a complaint.
The judge concurred that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code cannot grant the commission judicial authority to impose criminal sanctions or penalties, such as fines, because it is a subsidiary law that gives an administrative body, such as the NBC, the authority to implement its terms.
He also concurred that the commission lacked the authority to launch a criminal inquiry that would result in a criminal prosecution and the application of sanctions because it was not the Nigerian police.
According to Omotosho, the goal of the ideology was to stop tyranny by not concentrating too much power in one area.
NBC had, on the 1st of March, 2019, imposed the sum of N500,000 each on 45 broadcast stations in the country over an alleged violation of its code.
In an originating summon, however, the Incorporated sued the NBC as sole respondent in the suit.
In the motion, the lawyer, of the group Noah Ajare sought a declaration that the sanctions procedure applied by NBC in imposing N500,00Q fines on each of the 45 broadcast stations on March 1, 2019, was a violation of the rules of natural justice.
The lawyer also said that the fines were in violation of the right to a fair hearing under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Articles 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap AQ) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The group argued that this was so because the code, which created the alleged offences of which the broadcast stations were accused was written and adopted by NBC, “and also gives powers to the said commission to receive complaints of alleged breaches, investigate and adjudicate the complaints, impose sanctions, including fines, and ultimately collect the fines, which the commission uses for its own purposes.”
They, therefore, sought an order setting aside the N500,000 fines purportedly imposed by NBC on each of the 45 broadcast stations on Friday, March 1, 2019.
They also sought “an order of perpetual Injunction restraining the respondent, its servants, agents, privies, representatives or anyone acting for or on its behalf, from imposing fines on any of the broadcast stations or any other broadcast station in Nigeria for any alleged offence committed under the Nigerian Broadcasting Code.”
He held that the fines imposed by the NBC as punishment for the commission of various offences under its code were contrary to the law and hereby declared unconstitutional, null and void.