Court of Appeal Dismisses NBC’s Appeal Against Judgment Restraining Fines on Broadcast Stations

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the appeal filed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) against the judgment restraining the commission from imposing fines on broadcast stations, with Justice Jane Esienanwan Inyang, the lead judge of the panel, holding that the NBC’s appeal was fundamentally defective and incompetent. 

The appeal was filed by NBC against the judgment of Justice Rita Ofili Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which, on January 17, 2024, restrained the NBC from imposing N5 million fines against broadcast stations over allegations of undermining Nigeria’s national security by broadcasting documentaries on banditry. 

Inyang held that the parties before the lower court were identified as Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda as applicant and National Broadcasting Commission as respondent, but in the notice of appeal, the purported appellant was described as the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, a discrepancy the court considered significant and ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the Commission’s appeal. 

The judge ruled that the notice of appeal is a foundation of appeal and a condition precedent to the exercise of appellate jurisdiction by the court, and that the appeal was dismissed. In April 2026, the Court of Appeal had similarly dismissed another appeal filed by the NBC against a judgment barring it from imposing fines on broadcast stations.

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