In March, 2019, NBC imposed the sum of N500,000 fine each on 45 broadcast stations in the country over alleged violation of its code.

Justice James Omotosho, in a judgment held that NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations.

He further held that the NBC Code, which gives the commission the power to impose sanctions, conflicts with Section 6 of the Constitution, which vested judicial power in the court of law.

He declared that the court would not do nothing while a body unilaterally assessed a fine without following the law.

He said that the commission broke the law when it appeared before the judge and court as a complainant at the same time.

The judge concurred that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code cannot grant the commission judicial authority to impose criminal sanctions or penalties, such as fines, because it is a subsidiary law that gives an administrative body, such as the NBC, the authority to implement its terms.

He also agreed that the commission, not the Nigeria Police Force, had no power to conduct a criminal investigation that would lead to criminal trial and imposition of sanctions.

“This will go against the doctrine of separation of powers,” he said.

Omotosho held that what the doctrine sought to achieve was to prevent tyranny by concentrating too much power in one organ.

“The action of the respondent qualifies as excessiveness as it had ascribed to itself the judicial and executive powers,” he said.

On Tuesday, the business sent a text message to its users informing them of the increases.

Multichoice attributed the increase in operating expenses to the price change of the subscription packages in the text message.

Multichoice upped the monthly membership fee for its Premium DSTV package under the new pricing that will be in effect starting on May 1 from N20,000 to N24,500.

However, if they are active by April 30th, users can keep paying the former price of N21,000 for up to 12 months.

Also, Multichoice said the price of the Compact+ bouquet has been adjusted from to N16,600 from N14, 250 monthly while subscribers on the Compact bouquet would now pay N10,500 as a monthly subscription against the previous N9,000.

Subscribers on the Confam package will now pay N6,200 monthly as against N5,300.

Similarly to this, DStv Yanga and Padi subscribers would pay N3,500 and N2,500 each as opposed to N2,950 and N2,150.

The “GOtv SUPA” package is a new one from GOtv Nigeria.
Subscribers to the GOtv will pay N6,400 as opposed to N5,500 for the GOtv Supa package, and N4,850 as opposed to N4,150 for the GOtv Max plan.

Subscribers to GOtv Jolli will begin paying N3,300 instead of N2,800, and the rates for GOtv Jinja and GOtv Lite would also increase from N1,900 to N2,250 and N900 to N1,100, respectively.

However, the business said that it has given users who renew their subscriptions before the due dates a price lock offer.

This means customers can still pay the old rates for 12 months if they pay monthly before the expiration of their subscriptions.

Similarly, it grants subscribers, who pay for one year at a go, before the new prices kick in, the opportunity to pay the old tariffs.

According to Multichoice, a country-by-country price comparison showed that Nigerian DStv Premium subscribers would pay the equivalent of $33.11 (N740 to a dollar), with those in South Africa paying 879 Rands ($48.48 at 18.1 Rands to the dollar).

The tariff of N16,600 is to be paid by Nigerian Compact + subscribers, the equivalent of $22.43, while those in South Africa will pay 579 Rands ($31,94). Compact customers in Nigeria, it was also discovered, will pay the equivalent of $14.19 (N10,500).

Malam Balarabe Ilelah, Director-General of NBC, issued the warning during a meeting with broadcast stations about coverage of the presidential, national assembly, gubernatorial, and state assembly elections.

“NBC is giving its last warning to broadcast stations and will not hesitate to shut or revoke the license of any when convinced that its activities are capable of undermining the peaceful co-existence of the country.

“Any further breaches of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code and Act will no longer be tolerated,’’ he warned.

He stated that the Commission monitored some broadcast stations’ coverage of the elections and was concerned that some of them gave unpatriotic individuals air time to make subversive, hateful, and inciting statements, particularly post-election.

He noted, however, that the coverage of the elections and post-election matters were “marred by unguarded statements, divisive and dangerous comments”.

In these troubling times, the NBC DG noted that the media has a role to play in ensuring national development by publishing or broadcasting narratives of national reconciliation and healing.

He urged broadcasters to refrain from promoting negative conversations that are not only harmful to democracy but also pose a threat to Nigeria’s corporate existence.

He acknowledged that using broadcast platforms to incite supporters or create enmity would not help in deepening the nation’s democracy.

“In as much as the Commission believes in the freedom of expression, it is also seriously constrained to act decisively on any broadcaster that exploits the fragile peace of our nation,’’ he stressed.

Balarabe Ilelah, Director General, NBC, revealed this while briefing journalists Thursday in Abuja, and also reeled out the NBC Scorecard.

However, he stated that the Commission has fined 17 broadcast stations since the start of the 2023 presidential campaign in September.

According to him, the Commission has also sanctioned 302 for various infringements of the broadcast code.

In total, NBC issued 196 warnings, 69 cautions, and 13 inquiries, and referred nine stations to its national headquarters.

Ilelah stated that the current administration has issued licenses to 473 stations and that President Buhari has approved NBC’s independence from political interference in the exercise of its regulatory functions, particularly the issuance and withdrawal of broadcasting licenses.

He stated that, unlike in the past, this has greatly aided in the reduction of violations by broadcasters.

Ilelah, on the other hand, urged broadcasters to continue cooperating with the Commission in adhering to the provisions governing broadcast operations in Nigeria.

On Digital Switchover (DSO), he stated that despite inherent implementation challenges, President Buhari has continued to support the digital switchover.

“The Commission is currently working on delivering Nigeria to the life-changing experience of digital broadcasting using SIMULCRYPT,” he said.

“Against this backdrop, ITS and NTA-Star Nigeria have signed an agreement to implement this as soon as possible.” The Commission’s Board of Directors has approved licensing the third signal distributor to restructure DSO. This is in addition to the already existing ITS and Pinnacle.”

He stated that the Commission is working to digitize the broadcast license application process so that potential applicants can apply from the comfort of their own homes.

He also stated that President Buhari has authorized the Commission to acquire cutting-edge Nationwide Broadcast Monitoring Equipment.

“Acquisition of the equipment is in the process and if finally acquired the Commission will get to have Ultra Modern Artificial Intelligence-driven Central Monitoring infrastructure,” he said.

He added that the Buhari administration has approved NBC’s request to recruit more staff that will monitor broadcast stations in every nook and cranny.

He said the Commission’s drive to further professionalize the broadcasting industry has motivated it to establish the Nigeria Broadcast Institute for the training of industry players.

“I will use this opportunity to call on broadcasters to continue to abide by the NBC Act, the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, the Electoral Act, and any extant law that guides media operation as we count down to the general elections.

“The Commission has deployed all the technical and operational facilities for the monitoring of the elections.” “To ensure quality broadcast during elections, no locality in Nigeria where a broadcast station exists will be left unmonitored during the elections,” the DG added.