The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has filed a fresh application with the Court of Appeal in Abuja, requesting an extension of time to challenge a High Court ruling that stripped the regulator of its power to fine broadcast stations.
The legal battle stems from a lawsuit launched by Media Rights Agenda after the regulator hit Multichoice Nigeria Limited (DSTV), TelCom Satellite Limited, Trust-TV Network Limited, and NTA Startimes Limited with ₦5 million fines each. According to a Monday statement by Media Rights Agenda’s communications officer, Idowu Adewale, the sanctions were imposed over documentaries on Zamfara State banditry and insecurity, which the NBC claimed jeopardised national security.
However, on 10 January 2024, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court declared the sanctions illegal and unconstitutional, ruling that the NBC holds no authority to penalise broadcasters because it does not function as a court of law.
Although the NBC instructed its legal team to challenge the decision immediately, filing within the statutory period on 18 March 2024, the initial appeal was struck out on 17 June 2026. The appellate court dismissed the effort as “fundamentally defective” and incompetent after counsel accidentally misnamed the agency as the “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission” rather than its statutory title, the “National Broadcasting Commission”.
Now seeking leave to rectify the error, lead counsel Mr Dapo Akinosun (SAN) argued in the new motion that the High Court judgment addresses matters of significant public interest regarding the commission’s statutory mandate to enforce standards across Nigerian media.
The regulator cautioned that leaving the judgment unreviewed would undermine the nation’s broadcasting framework. The NBC warned that “the subsisting judgment is capable of creating significant uncertainty regarding the commission’s regulatory powers and its ability to effectively discharge its statutory mandate.”
Without operational oversight, the commission argued, non-compliance could rise, enabling unchecked broadcasting practices and the spread of unverified, false, or sensational content that could trigger public anxiety and unrest. In addition to seeking extra time, the NBC is requesting permission to challenge Media Rights Agenda’s legal standing to have brought the original suit before the Federal High Court. A hearing date for the application has yet to be scheduled.