The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an attempt by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to overturn a Federal High Court ruling that bars the regulator from imposing monetary fines on broadcast stations without judicial approval.

According to reporting by Channels Television, the appellate court on Wednesday struck out the NBC’s appeal after finding it “fundamentally defective” and legally incompetent.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Jane Inyang noted a critical error in the notice of appeal, which listed the appellant as the “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission” instead of the legally recognised National Broadcasting Commission, a discrepancy the court said stripped it of jurisdiction.

The court held that a valid notice of appeal is a foundational requirement for any appellate process, stressing that the defect meant “there was no appeal in fact and in law” before it.

The dispute traces back to a January 2024 Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, which declared that the NBC acted unlawfully when it imposed fines on several broadcasters, including MultiChoice Nigeria, TelCom Satellite Limited, Trust TV Network Limited and NTA StarTimes Limited.

The sanctions had been issued after the stations aired documentaries on banditry and insecurity in Zamfara State. The NBC argued the content threatened national security.

However, the trial court held that the fines violated constitutional protections on freedom of expression under Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The latest ruling adds to a series of setbacks for the regulator, following earlier Appeal Court decisions that also restricted its power to impose fines without court processes.