The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has reserved judgment in an appeal filed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) seeking to overturn a Federal High Court decision which declared that the Commission lacks the legal authority to impose fines on broadcast stations.
The appellate court fixed judgment for a later date after hearing arguments from counsel representing both the NBC and Media Rights Agenda (MRA), the respondent in the appeal.
The NBC is challenging a November 23, 2023 ruling by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, which dismissed its application to set aside an earlier default judgment delivered on May 10, 2023, in favour of MRA.
Background: Default Judgment and Perpetual Injunction
The dispute stems from a suit filed by MRA following the NBC’s March 1, 2019 decision to impose ₦500,000 fines on 45 broadcast stations for alleged breaches of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
In his May 10, 2023 judgment, Justice Omotosho ruled that:
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Only courts of law have the constitutional authority to impose criminal sanctions, including fines.
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The NBC, being an administrative body, is neither a court nor a judicial tribunal empowered to determine guilt or impose criminal penalties.
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The Commission’s actions violated Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution and provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The court consequently:
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Declared the fines unconstitutional, null and void.
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Set aside the ₦500,000 fines imposed on the 45 stations.
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Issued a perpetual injunction restraining the NBC from imposing fines on broadcast stations under the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
NBC’s Grounds of Appeal
At the hearing on February 4, 2026, senior counsel Victor Ogude (SAN), leading Kehinde Wilkey for the NBC, adopted the Commission’s brief of argument urging the appellate court to set aside both the default judgment and the ruling refusing to vacate it.
The NBC argued that:
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The Federal High Court had statutory power under Order 14 Rule 10 of its 2019 Rules to set aside its judgment.
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The default judgment was entered despite issues of non-service of originating processes, lack of jurisdiction, res judicata, fraud, and abuse of court process.
Counsel further contended that the issues raised by MRA had already been determined in earlier cases involving other organisations challenging NBC’s regulatory powers.
According to the NBC, MRA’s decision to institute another suit instead of appealing previous judgments amounted to an abuse of court process.
Ogude urged the court to allow the appeal and nullify the May 10, 2023 judgment.
MRA’s Response: ‘Equity Does Not Aid the Indolent’
Responding, counsel for MRA, Mr Ezenwa Anumnu, urged the Court of Appeal to dismiss the appeal in its entirety.
He argued that Justice Omotosho had fully considered the NBC’s grounds before refusing to set aside the default judgment.
According to him, the NBC abandoned its claim of non-service in its appeal brief, effectively conceding that it had been served with the court processes.
“The correct position of the law is that the issue of jurisdiction can be raised at any stage of the proceedings — and this means proceedings before judgment by the trial court,” Anumnu submitted. “After judgment, there are no proceedings.”
He further maintained that the trial court found as a fact that the NBC was duly served but “willfully decided to ignore the court and its proceedings.”
Quoting the trial judge’s findings, Anumnu noted that the court held that equity does not aid the indolent, adding that the NBC’s failure to appear amounted not only to indolence but an act of gross contempt of the trial court.
He stressed that an applicant seeking to set aside a default judgment must provide sufficient reasons for failing to appear at trial — a condition he said the NBC failed to meet.
Court Reserves Judgment
After adopting their respective briefs and making final submissions, the three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, reserved judgment to a date to be communicated to the parties.
The eventual decision is expected to clarify the scope of the NBC’s regulatory powers and the constitutional limits of administrative sanctions within Nigeria’s broadcasting sector.
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