The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja for permission to file a fresh appeal against a Federal High Court judgment that stopped it from imposing fines on broadcasting stations.
Naijaonpoint reports that the application followed the appellate court’s June 17, 2026 decision, which struck out the commission’s earlier appeal after declaring it fundamentally defective and incompetent.
In a motion filed by its counsel, Dapo Akinosun, SAN, the NBC asked the court to extend the period within which it could challenge the judgment delivered on January 10, 2024, by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court.
The case originated from a suit filed by Media Rights Agenda against the commission’s decision to impose fines of N5m each on four broadcasting companies.
The affected organisations were Multichoice Nigeria Limited, owners of DSTV; TelCom Satellite Limited; Trust-TV Network Limited; and NTA Startimes Limited.
In a statement issued on Monday, MRA’s Communications Officer, Idowu Adewale, said the fines were imposed after the stations broadcast documentaries on banditry and insecurity in Zamfara State.
According to the statement, the NBC accused the broadcasters of airing content that undermined Nigeria’s national security.
Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, however, ruled that the commission acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally by imposing the financial penalties.
The court held that the NBC lacked the authority to punish broadcasting organisations through fines because it was not a court of law.
The NBC subsequently challenged the judgment at the Court of Appeal, but the case was struck out because the commission’s name was wrongly stated in the appeal documents.
The appellant was described as the “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission” instead of its legally recognised name, the “National Broadcasting Commission.”
In its latest application, the NBC attributed the error to its former legal representation and asked the appellate court to allow the substantive issues to be heard.
The commission said it instructed its lawyers to appeal immediately after the Federal High Court judgment and that the notice of appeal was filed on March 18, 2024, within the period permitted by law.
It maintained that the failure of the first appeal resulted from an inadvertent mistake in the description of its statutory name.
NBC Warns Of Regulatory Uncertainty
The commission argued that the Federal High Court judgment raised issues of exceptional public importance concerning its powers to regulate broadcasting and enforce compliance with industry standards.
According to the NBC, allowing the judgment to remain unchallenged could create uncertainty about the extent of its regulatory authority.
“The subsisting judgment is capable of creating significant uncertainty regarding the commission’s regulatory powers and its ability to effectively discharge its statutory mandate,” it stated.
The commission warned that weakening its regulatory framework could encourage broadcasters to disregard established standards.
It claimed that inadequate oversight could also contribute to the spread of false, misleading and unverified information capable of creating panic, public anxiety and social unrest.
The NBC further argued that ineffective regulation could encourage irresponsible broadcasting and the use of broadcast and digital media platforms to disseminate sensational or inflammatory content.
The regulator maintained that the proposed appeal involved substantial questions extending beyond the parties in the suit.
It said the outcome could affect broadcasters, content producers, media consumers and the wider regulation of Nigeria’s broadcasting industry.
The NBC is also seeking permission to raise a fresh issue concerning whether Media Rights Agenda had the legal capacity to institute and maintain the original action before the Federal High Court.
The Court of Appeal had yet to fix a date for the hearing of the application.
