The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and affirmed a Federal High Court judgment that bars the regulator from imposing fines on broadcast stations across Nigeria.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Oyebiola Oyewumi on behalf of a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Mohammed (with Justice Donatus Okorowo as the third member), the appellate court upheld the earlier ruling and nullified the ₦500,000 penalties imposed by the NBC on 45 radio and television stations on March 1, 2019, for alleged violations of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
The judgment was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by Idowu Adewale, Communications Officer of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), the organisation that instituted the suit.
Media Rights Agenda filed the suit in November 2021, challenging the NBC’s authority to impose fines on broadcasters.
On May 10, 2023, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled in favour of MRA after the NBC failed to appear in court to defend the case.
Justice Omotosho held that fines are punitive sanctions that only courts of law can impose under Nigerian law. He declared that the NBC “is neither a court nor a judicial tribunal” and therefore lacked the power to pronounce guilt or impose penalties on broadcast stations, regardless of what the Nigeria Broadcasting Code states.
The judge ruled that the NBC’s actions were inconsistent with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
The NBC later filed a motion in July 2023 asking the same court to set aside the judgment, arguing lack of jurisdiction.
In November 2023, Justice Omotosho dismissed the application as an “afterthought,” noting that the commission had been properly served but failed to appear.
The NBC then approached the Court of Appeal in July 2024 to overturn the ruling. During the hearing on February 4, 2026, counsel for both sides adopted their briefs.
In today’s ruling, the appellate court agreed with MRA that the NBC could not raise new objections at the appeal stage after failing to contest the suit at the lower court. The appeal was therefore dismissed for lack of merit.
This marks the first victory for Media Rights Agenda in two separate appeals against the NBC concerning Federal High Court decisions restricting the commission’s power to fine broadcasters.
A second appeal, challenging a similar ruling by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia delivered on January 17, 2024 (which nullified ₦5 million fines on a television station and three pay TV platforms over documentaries on banditry), is still pending.
The Court of Appeal heard arguments in that case on March 25, 2026, and has reserved judgment.
The ruling strengthens press freedom and the independence of broadcast media in Nigeria by limiting the NBC’s ability to act as both regulator and judge.
It reinforces the principle that only courts can impose punitive fines, protecting broadcasters from arbitrary sanctions that could chill free expression.
