The National Broadcasting Commission announces major plans to institute an independent tribunal composed of retired judges to oversee broadcast code violations while continuing its legal battle over regulatory fining powers.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has announced decisive plans to establish an independent regulatory tribunal, composed of retired judges and impartial legal experts, specifically tasked with hearing and determining cases of broadcast code violations across the country.
Unveiling this structural shift on Sunday in Abuja, the Director-General of the NBC, Dr. Charles Ebuebu, clarified that the new adjudicatory body will operate within the commission’s overarching regulatory framework but remain strictly separate from its day-to-day operations to guarantee total transparency, equity, and fair hearing.
Alongside this institutional reform, the NBC boss firmly disclosed that the apex broadcast regulator is actively appealing recent appellate court judgments that stripped the commission of its unilateral authority to impose heavy financial sanctions on erring radio and television stations.
Dr. Ebuebu explicitly corrected widespread public misconceptions surrounding the judiciary’s recent pronouncements, noting that the courts have never stripped the NBC of its statutory mandate to police the airwaves or enforce discipline.
Instead, the judicial system simply ruled that the commission cannot act as the judge, jury, and executioner in its own case. He explained that the contentious rulings targeted monetary penalties, which the courts interpreted as punitive criminal sanctions that require a completely independent, external trial mechanism before enforcement.
Disagreeing strongly with this legal interpretation, the NBC chief insisted that administrative fines levied by a regulatory agency differ fundamentally from criminal penalties, which forms the core legal basis for the commission’s determination to challenge the verdicts at the higher courts.
Drawing a operational parallel to justify the planned reforms, Dr. Ebuebu likened the incoming media tribunal to the highly efficient mobile court system utilized by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), where traffic offenders are immediately arraigned before independent magistrates rather than undergoing full-scale high court litigation.
He warned that completely stripping the commission of its swift enforcement and sanctioning powers would severely weaken broadcast regulation, leaving the regulatory space vulnerable to non-compliant operators who routinely ignore official warning letters until financial penalties are brought against them.
Stating that jumping straight from mild warnings to total license revocations would be highly arbitrary and destructive to media investments, the NBC boss emphasized that a balanced, legally sound, and transparent independent process is the most sustainable path forward to sanitize the nation’s rapidly growing digital and terrestrial broadcasting landscape.
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