BON petitions minister over N5 million fine on broadcast station 

•CSOs sue Buhari over sanction, want decision reversed

Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) has petitioned Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, complaining of alleged high-handedness in the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) imposition of N5 million fine on Channels TV for supposed tolerance of treasonable outburst of a guest.

Besides, the organisation, in a statement, yesterday, slammed the regulator for being the “accuser and the judge” in the matter, involving the interview granted vice presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the February 25, 2023 general elections, Datti Baba-Ahmed.

Recall that the guest, who featured on Politics Today by Seun Okinbaloye, had advised the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) against swearing in President-elect Bola Tinubu.

He had submitted that his inauguration would signal end of democracy in the country. The petition, issued by BON’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Yemisi Bamgbose, reads: “We found it absurd that NBC, as a regulator, could impose illegal fine on a broadcast station without employing all avenues to investigate the complaints nor give room for defence from the station so accused.

“Honourable minister, sir, the attitudes of NBC towards broadcast stations in recent past are not only arbitrary, but smack of high-handedness, which is almost suffocating the broadcast media in the country.” 

Appealing to Mohammed to use his good offices to rein in the NBC, BON added: “It is in the light of the above and for many other reasons that we are calling on the minister to urgently call NBC to order to avoid total decimation of the hitherto respected regulatory body.”

Venting its mind to NBC DG, BON said the watchdog was “gradually sliding to agent of media suppression, which may lose its credibility as unbiased regulator.”

IN a related development, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) have sued President Muhammadu Buhari and two others at the Federal High Court, Lagos over the fine.

Joined in the suit as defendants are NBC and the minister.
 
In the suit numbered FHC/L/CS/616/2023 and filed last week, the plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether the NBC code used to impose the fine and threat of ‘higher sanctions’ are not in inconsistent with access to information and media freedom.
  
In the case filed Kolawole Oluwadare, Andrew Nwankwo and Blessing Ogwuche, the group is asking the court for a declaration that the activated code and threat of ‘higher sanctions’ are arbitrary, unconstitutional and unlawful, as “it violates the rights to fair hearing, freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom.”
  
The plaintiffs are seeking an order setting aside the fine for being “inconsistent and incompatible with Sections 22, 36 and 39 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

They are also seeking an order directing and compelling NBC to reverse its “arbitrary and unlawful decision to impose a fine of N5,000,000 on Channels TV forthwith.”
 
In the suit, the plaintiffs are arguing that the media has the task of distributing all varieties of information and opinion on matters of general and public interest.
   
The applicants said: “Imposing any fine whatsoever without due process of law is arbitrary and unconstitutional, as it contravenes the fundamental principles of nemo judex in causa sua, which literally means one cannot be a judge in his own cause and audi alteram partem, which means no one should be condemned unheard.  No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.