Breaking: Court Bars NBC From Imposing Fines On Broadcast Stations

A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, 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.

Breaking: Court Bars NBC From Imposing Fines On Broadcast Stations

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 said the court would not sit idle and watch a body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law, adding that the commission 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.

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BY IYABO AINA

Publisher Of News Rain Nigeria