A Federal High Court, Abuja has stopped the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from further imposing fines on broadcast stations in the country.
In a judgment, Justice James Omotosho voided the N500,000 fines imposed by NBC on 45 broadcast stations on March 1, 2019.
Justice Omotosho was of the view that NBC, not being a court of law, lacked the power to impose sanctions as punishment on alleged erring broadcast stations.
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The judge held that the NBC Code, on which the commission relies to impose sanctions, is in conflict with Section 6 of the Constitution which vested judicial power in the court of law.
He noted the court will not sit idle and watch a body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law.
The judge said the NBC did not comply with the law when it sat as a complainant and at the same time, a court and a judge on its own case.
The judgment was on a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1386/2021 filed by a group, the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda.
Justice Omotosho held that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, being a subsidiary legislation that empowers an administrative body like the NBC to enforce its provisions, could not confer judicial powers on the commission to impose criminal sanctions or penalties such as fines.
The judge also held that the NBC, not being the Nigeria Police Force, was without powers to conduct criminal investigation that would lead to criminal trial and imposition of sanctions, adding that “this will go against the doctrine of separation of powers.”
He said the doctrine of separation of powers was meant to prevent tyranny that could occur where too much powers were concentrated in an organ of government.
Justice Omotosho held that the action of the respondent (NBC) qualifies as excessiveness because ascribed to itself judicial and executive powers.
The then Director General of NBC, Modibo Kawu while announcing the sanction in March 1, 2019 said the about 45 stations violated Sections 5.2.12, 7.6.6 and 7.6.7 of his commission’s Code at the end of the presidential elections held on the 23rd of February 2019.
Kawu noted that they also sanctioned stations that allowed politicians to make abusive, inciting and provocative statements during rallies adding that this happened on several radio and television stations particularly, on the four national networks such as NTA, AIT, Channels TV and TVC News.
(Vanguard)
