An order by the Federal High Court in Lagos stopping the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the National Broadcasting Commission from revoking the licences of 53 broadcasting stations in the country has been further extended.
The order, which was extended, was issued by Justice Akintayo Aluko on August 29 following a motion exparte by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
When the case came up for hearing on Thursday, Justice Daniel Osiagor extended the order of interim injunction pending the hearing of the motion on notice, and adjourned the case to October 26, 2022, for the hearing of the originating summons.
This was disclosed in a statement jointly signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare; and the General Secretary, NGE, Iyobosa Uwugiaren.
SERAP and NGE had filed a suit marked FHC/L/CS/1582/2022, asking the court to determine “whether Section 10(a) of the Third Schedule to the NBC Act used by NBC to threaten to revoke the licences of 53 broadcast stations and shut them down is not inconsistent with freedom of expression and access to information.”
In a joint statement, both groups said they also sought “a declaration that Section 10(a) of the National Broadcasting Act used by the NBC to unilaterally revoke the licences of the broadcast stations and shutting down the stations is a violation of the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed right to a fair hearing.”
The statement read in part, “The provisions of the 1999 Constitution and human rights treaties on freedom of expression indicate that this right can be exercised through any medium.
“Effectively, these provisions recognise 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 1999 Constitution and human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a party to.”
