- * As Commission Beats Court Intervention, Holds Talk With Broadcast Stations Weekend
Hearing On Suit Adjourned Till September 8
Activist Chides SERAP Against Indulging In Alleged 'Inconclusive' Law Suits
By Chinwendu Agoha (Media/Governance Reporter) and Thelma Dokubo (Bureau Chief, South South, in PortHarcourt)
The Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, on Monday, issued a restraining order on the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from revoking the licenses of 53 broadcast stations in the country, and consequently shutting down the stations for allegedly failing to renew their licenses.
The said enrollment order of court was coming on the heels of the NBC's announcement, last week Friday, of a temporary suspension of its decision to revoke the licenses of the broadcast stations that were allegedly indebted to the commission.
The NBC stated that the interim suspension order on the offending broadcast stations was sequel to a follow-up meeting it held with executives of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) and other critical stakeholders in the industry.
The Commission revealed that were that there were positive responses from the debtor licensees, including big organisations in the broadcast industry who had started to redeem their debts.
However, in a joint statement on Monday, August 29, 2022 by the General Secretary of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Iyobosa Uwugiaren and the Deputy Director of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Kola Oluwadare, the two groups said that Honourable Justice Akintayo Aluko (Court 8) granted an order of interim injunction, following the hearing of an argument on a ‘’Motion Exparte’’ by the NGE and SERAP.
NGE and SERAP, had, last week, filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government and it's broadcast media regulatory agency, the NBC, asking the court for a declaration that section 10(a) of the Third Schedule to the NBC Act used by NBC to threaten a revocation of the licenses of the 53 broadcast stations and to shut down their operations, is unconstitutional, totally unlawful, and violates their statutory rights to freedom of expression.
In the suit, the two groups had asked the court for “an order of interim injunction restraining Federal Government and the NBC or their agents from revoking the licenses of 53 broadcast stations in the country and shutting their down operations, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed contemporaneously in this suit.”
The suit has been adjourned to September 8, 2022 for the hearing of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
The suit followed the decision by the NBC to revoke the licenses of the 53 broadcast stations and shut down their operations within 24 hours over alleged N2.6 billion debts.
In the suit number FHC/L/CS/1582/2022, NGE and SERAP asked the court to determine “whether section 10(a) of the Third Schedule to the NBC Act used by NBC to threaten revoke the licenses of 53 broadcast stations and shut them down is not in inconsistent with freedom of expression and access to information.”
NGE and SERAP also sought “a declaration that section 10(a) of the National Broadcasting Act used by NBC to unilaterally revoke the licenses of the broadcast stations and shutdown the stations are a violation of the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed right to fair hearing.”
The suit read in part: “The provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties on freedom of expression indicate that this right can be exercised through any medium.
“Effectively, these provisions recognize that every individual has the right to an equal opportunity to receive, seek and impart information through any communication medium without discrimination.
“The use of NBC Act and Code in this case would inadmissibly open the door to arbitrariness and would fundamentally restrict the freedom of expression that is an integral part of the public order protected the Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party.”
The two groups had argued that the media plays an essential role as a vehicle or instrument for the exercise of freedom of expression and information – in its individual and collective aspects – in a democratic society, adding the media has the task of distributing all varieties of information and opinion on matters of general interest.
“The public has a right to receive and assess this information and opinion independently. Therefore, the existence of a free, independent, vigorous, pluralistic, and diverse media is essential for the proper functioning of a democratic society.
“According to the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ‘licensing processes shall seek to promote diversity in broadcasting. Any registration system for the media shall not impose substantive restrictions on the right to freedom of expression’”, the suit stated.
In the suit, the two groups argued further that revoking the licenses of 53 broadcast stations and shutting down their operations because they have not renewed their licenses would both seriously undermine the rights of millions of Nigerians to express their thoughts, and their right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, in any medium they choose.
According to the suit, “Freedom of expression includes the public's right to receive, and the right of those who express themselves through a medium of communication, to impart the greatest possible diversity of information and ideas.
“The right to freedom of expression is based on the right to establish or use a media outlet to exercise freedom of expression and on society's right to have access to a free, independent, and pluralistic media that allows for the most and most diverse information.
“The media, including the affected 53 broadcast stations, serve to distribute Nigerians’ thoughts and information while at the same time allowing them access to the ideas, information, opinions, and cultural expressions of other individuals.”
The suit explained that the Plaintiffs recognise the mandates of NBC to regulate broadcasting; but the exercise of such mandates including renewals or revocation of licenses must follow the thresholds and guidelines set by the right to freedom of expression.
The two groups averred further, “The NBC Act and Broadcasting Code cannot and should not be used in a manner that is inconsistent and incompatible with plurality of voices, diversity of voices, non-discrimination, and just demands of a democratic society, as well as the public interest.
“Broadcasting is a means of exercising freedom of expression. Any restrictions on freedom of expression must meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.”
NGE and SERAP said that the regulation of broadcasting must aspire to promote and expand the scope of the right to freedom of expression, not restrict it.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Director-General, Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, while in a settlement meeting with Executives and stakeholders of the broadcast industry, at the weekend, expressed profound gratitude to the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, the affected licensees and broadcast stakeholders for their responses and interventions.
He specifically thanked Silverbird TV/Rhythm FM and DAAR Communications Ltd, the owners of Africa Independent Television (AIT) and Raypower 100 FM for their responses. He noted that the Commission was not unaware of the difficulties the shutdown must have caused the operators and other stakeholders.
The DG insisted that the Commission would always operate within the National Broadcasting Commission Act, Cap. N11, Laws of the Federation, 2004.
It would be recalled that NBC had on August 19 revoked the broadcast licenses of 53 broadcast stations across the country following their failure to defray the N2.6 billion they were owing it. The revocation was suspended until August 24, after BON and other industrial stakeholders intervened on behalf of the affected licensees.
Meanwhile, a Niger Delta based Environmentalist and Civil Rights activist, Peremobewi John, has warned the NBC to always exercise caution in the manner in which it wields penalties against broadcast stations, claiming that it smacks of impunity on the part of the Commission.
Speaking exclusively to NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Correspondent in PortHarcourt, Rivers State capital, on Monday while reacting to the alleged restraining order of the Federal High Court against the NBC, the activist expressed deep dissatisfaction with what he described as the "usual unseriousness or inability" by SERAP to inconclusively pursue such important in court.
"We expect SERAP and the Editor's Guild body to jointly see to the end of that case. Let it not be like the usual case SERAP often rushes to court with just to create media drama and get the attention of it's partners. That is their style. They are becoming too notorious for a flash-in-the-pan kind of law suits. We don't want that kind of drama exercise in this case. They should conclude it this time around", Peremobewi John pleaded. NNL.
